self-editing for content writers.
In this day and age, pretty much everyone is a content writer to some extent. For most people, writing social media posts and personal blogs is a casual activity, one that doesn’t require perfection. But if content writing is part of your job description, a laissez-faire attitude won’t cut it when professionalism is paramount.
These tips are easy to implement and are ideal for polishing simple writing projects or when hiring an editor is not an option.
write first, edit later.
Don’t worry about getting every little thing right when you first put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard). This is the time to let your creativity flow. Focus on getting all of your ideas out of your head onto the page, then you can focus on tidying it up later.
get a fresh perspective.
Familiarity is where errors happen. You know what you’re trying to say, so your brain will automatically fill in any gaps that to someone else might be glaringly obvious. There are several ways to do this:
Another person
Get someone else to read your work. Ideally an editor (hi), or someone you know who has great attention to detail.
Time
Step away from your work for as long you can. For long-form pieces, give it a day, a few days, a week. The more intricate the piece, the more time needed. Some authors will leave a manuscript alone for months — years, even — in order to almost forget the story and be able to clearly see any issues within it on return. So, even if it’s only half an hour between writing an IG caption and posting it, use the time to do something completely unrelated, then revisit with fresh(er) eyes.
Different format
If you don’t have time or another set of eyes — or even if you do — try a different format. This will trick your brain into thinking the copy is unfamiliar. Hard copy is preferable — for example, print out a Word doc or photocopy a handwritten piece — but you can also copy and paste text from one program to another; say, from Canva to Word, or Instagram to your notes app.
In an ideal world, you would incorporate all three steps, but that’s not always feasible. Even one step is better than none — every shade of difference helps.
use editing software.
I must preface this by saying that editing software is by no means foolproof and does not fix some of the more complex issues that might present, but it can be really useful if you lack confidence in your writing or have particular blind spots. Grammarly, ProWritingAid, Writer.Com and PerfectIt are great for assisting with basic copyediting and style adherence. All have strengths and weaknesses, so investigate which one might be right for your needs. And always use in conjuction with actual human eyes — software is complementary, not a substitute.
read aloud.
Once you have been through the above steps, it’s time for a final proofread. Reading it out loud is the best way to do this. I do this with everything, from full manuscript to quick email (and when I don’t, I am invariably reminded why I do!). If you can, have your computer program read it for you. Microsoft Word is amazing for this. You can change the voice and speed to suit you. It picks up those little errors that irritatingly skate through spellcheck: loose/lose, then/than, it/if. I promise, once you try it, you won’t go back.
Happy writing (and editing), Cx
