Anyone who has ever had to submit a report or sent a critical email understands the value of having a second set of eyes. A second reader can help you see errors in your writing, point out odd turns of phrases, and point out when something doesn’t make sense.
But what if you can’t find someone to assist you with book writing before the deadline?
With worldwide pandemics and new work-from-home regulations, getting a teammate to scan your papers may be more challenging than ever. When you’re up against a deadline and can’t locate support, it’s natural to begin doubting the quality of your work.
If you don’t have a proofreader, this guide contains the tools and strategies to help you self-edit your work.
1. Identify Your Crutches & Avoid Them
One of the most prevalent issues beginner writers experience include dependence on specific phrases, twists of terms, or structural components. Most of the time, these authors aren’t even conscious that they’re strongly reliant on these things, so they keep making the same mistakes. These are what we call crutches, and every writer, whether they recognize it or not, has them.
To make your writing stronger (and your editor’s life more superficial), you must recognize and eliminate your crutches. Rereading previously published material is one of the most efficient methods. Do you, for example, unintentionally begin most of your blog entries with questions? Do you use complex sentences in most of your paragraphs? Both are instances of crutches on which you may not even be aware that you are relying.
Although reading over your early work can be tricky (and often embarrassing), it’s a beautiful method to recognize the things you unknowingly do again and over again, and these flaws will likely be much more visible in your past work. When you’re aware of your crutches, it’s easy to be cautious and avoid them in your writing.
Quick Tip: Rereading prior work and making notes on approaches or conventions you employ regularly might help you “catch” the habits you develop as a writer. Do you find yourself using the exact phrases again and over? Do you tend to overuse particular words? Make a determined effort to avoid using crutches.
2. Make Use of Serial Commas
For a good reason, specific style guides and editors prefer The Associated Press style guide. Its standards for formatting numerals, dates, and other crucial information are strong, and it provides the tired writer or blogger with trustworthy, dependable guidelines to follow.
Unless there’s a compelling reason not to use serial commas, if you use serial commas, the chance for ambiguity in whatever you’re attempting to communicate is considerably reduced. One shouldn’t think of any compelling reason not to use them in any material.
Possible exceptions include occasions when space is restricted, which is why the AP, a wire agency that still supplies material to newspapers where every precious column inch matters, continues to argue against using serial commas. Tweets and other social media updates and PPC ad headlines are examples of these circumstances.
Quick Tip: Unless there’s a compelling reason do not use serial commas.
3. Keep an Eye Out for Hyphenation.
Another standard error most writers repeat in the work of many authors is the ignorance of hyphenation. Although hyphenation can be intricate and situational, the fundamentals are simple. One should master putting hyphens before delivering your first manuscript to your editor.
“Mother to be stabbed to death in bar.”
Hyphenation is important.
The most prevalent (mis)use of hyphenation occurs when dealing with adjectives. Essentially, the rule is that if two words describe the same thing, the two terms should be hyphenated. Here are several examples:
- Award-winning software
- Long-distance relationships
Without the hyphens, the above instances may apply to a long-distance relationship or software that assists users in winning accolades. The hyphens remove any potential uncertainty.
The use of adjectives ending in “-ly” and terms ending in “y” in general is an exception to this norm. For example, characterizing a restaurant as “family friend” does not require a hyphen because there is no potential for misconstrued meaning. Similarly, there would be no need for a hyphen in the term “nationally syndicated radio programme.”
If in doubt, or if you want to learn more about grammatical complications like hyphens, I highly recommend reading and following Mignon Fogarty – AKA Grammar Girl – who is without a doubt one of the top authorities on the Web for this type of stuff.
Quick Tip: Try to add hyphens in compound adjectives are an excellent place to start. A hyphen is not required between two descriptive terms that word or comma may separate “and” (as in “huge, black car”).
4. Don’t Overuse ‘Which’ & ‘That’ Interchangeably
This error is much simpler to overlook as compared to previous points, but it is no less significant.
Contrary to popular belief, “that” and “which” cannot (or should not) be used interchangeably. This is because “that” is usually always used as part of a restrictive clause – a sentence that restricts another sentence and cannot be deleted. Here’s an example:
“Saturated fat-rich foods can contribute to the development of heart disease.”
In this scenario, we’re specifically (or narrowly) discussing foods high in saturated fat and their possible influence on cases of heart disease. Because not all foods cause heart disease, “that” becomes an essential aspect of the sentence’s restriction clause.
On the other hand, the word “which” is frequently used in nonrestrictive clauses or elements of a statement. We omit it without changing the meaning of the original sentence, as in:
“Facebook advertising, which may be pretty cost-efficient, is an excellent method to expand your brand.”
We can remove “which may be pretty cost-efficient” section of the above statement. Without that, the “original” sentence would still make sense. The nonrestrictive clause offers potentially helpful information but removing it would have no effect on the rest of the phrase or change its meaning.
Quick Tip: Use “which” just after or between commas.
5. Repetition Should Be Used Sparingly
Repetition is one of the most common faults in one’s work, yet it may spoil an otherwise excellent piece of writing.
Don’t misunderstand me. Repetition may be an effective tool for reinforcing or emphasizing key elements and adding rhythm to the composition. Repetition may even be essential when utilizing specific twists of phrase. However, many new writers are only concerned with avoiding misuse of the exact words several times in their work. Still, repetition may also creep into other aspects of your writing, such as a sentence or paragraph structure.
When you believe you have completed your first draft, go over the first few words of each paragraph. Do you always start your sections in the same or similar way? You may have overlooked it throughout the drafting process, but your reader will notice.
Quick Tip: Keep an eye out for precise word repetition, as well as “crutches” like sentence and paragraph structure.
6. Experiment with Reading Your Work Aloud
It’s a great way to detect flaws or places for development in your work. When you’ve finished the first draught, step away from it for a few hours or an afternoon, then return and read the work aloud. Sit down and read aloud every word you wrote. It may sound strange and perhaps uncomfortable (and it can be) but doing so will accentuate every odd turn of phrase, which will sound just as awful in your reader’s head as it does out loud.
This strategy will also highlight portions of your content that are unnecessary. If you find yourself glossing over certain words, becoming tongue-tied on others, or losing your train of thought in general, it’s time to break out the red pen and start cutting.
You’ll discover that you need to read your work aloud significantly less frequently as time goes on. I consider myself fortunate that I no longer need to do this. Still, I wholeheartedly encourage this strategy to individuals new to content and those who want to become better, more autonomous content creators.
Quick Tip: Make a recording of yourself reading your work aloud. Once you’ve gotten over the difficulty of hearing your voice, you’ll rapidly notice issues with the rhythm and cadence.
7. Anything BUT Avoid the Plague as A Cliché
Using clichés is one of the quickest and most efficient methods to dilute the potential impact of the message you’re attempting to convey while also losing your reader’s attention. We’ve all heard these phrases many times and using them in your work isn’t just sloppy writing (which is awful); it’s also giving your reader permission to turn her brain off and allow her thoughts to wander (worse).
Also, because of the miracles of modern medicine, people seldom must avoid genuine plagues these days intentionally, so if you’re going to use a cliché, make it a relevant one.
This isn’t limited to dull, worn-out phrasing. It also pertains to sloppy filler sentences like “At the end of the day…” We don’t care until anything relevant to your article happens at the end of the day.
Avoiding clichés in your writing isn’t only about doing the right thing for your readers; it’s also about challenging your mind to think harder and more imaginatively about how to describe things.
Quick Tip: Using clichés isn’t just lazy; you’re also disrespecting your audience by providing mediocre work. You can do better, and your audience deserves it.
8. Think Like an Editor, Read Like a Reader
Writing can be a thankless and challenging endeavor. All the work, effort, and knowledge into creating a compelling, actionable blog post (or essay or narrative) does not guarantee that anybody will read it. This might result in what is referred to as “becoming wedded to work” in writing workshops. It might be challenging to imagine removing large sections of your writing at times. You spent hours meticulously crafting every line in the hopes that your readers will pay as much attention to reading it as you did, right?
Wrong. When you’re reviewing a finished manuscript, remember back to your (strong, memorable) headline and ask yourself if you’re keeping the promises you made. Put yourself in the shoes of your reader as you read each line and skim each paragraph. You’re pressed for time, and there are hundreds of other blog entries vying for your attention. What distinguishes yours? Why should the reader waste valuable minutes of their life (which they will never get back) reading your post?
Your readers are continually wondering, unconsciously or otherwise, if your piece is meeting or exceeding their initial expectations. If it isn’t, they’ll put the book down and move on to something else. But if they receive what they want, they’ll hang on to your every word. It is the core of thinking like an editor and reading like a reader. Your editor will be continually questioning whether your piece is fulfilling its promise and offering value to her readers – and you should be as well.
Quick Tip: Does each sentence and paragraph in your writing make a solid point or contribute to what you’re attempting to say?
Don’t Forget About Checklist 101
- Try to use various typefaces for each item.
- Establish out your passive voices
- Avoid unnecessary words if possible.
- Remove adverbs. Replace with more powerful verbs
- Experiment with different sentence constructions.
- Be aware of your tenses and points of view.
- Have someone else proofread it.
- When you believe it’s finished, read it again.
Be A Better Writer Today!
Improve Your Editing Skills Self-editing is an important aspect of the writing process. It can convert mediocre information into amazing content that people want to read. Your editing abilities will increase as you become more aware of your writing strengths and flaws.
Apply these editing suggestions to your next writing endeavor. Your material will be more pleasurable to read, will have a greater influence on readers, and you will be more marketable as a writer.