You've just spent a lot of time - hours perhaps - writing a press release, a technical specification, some marketing copy, a menu or whatever it is that pertains to your project or business. In fact, you're practically married to the thing and you can recite the content word for word. So what do you do now?
- Do you send it off to the printers and order expensive copies?
- Do you attach it to an email and send it out for company-wide distribution?
- Do you make twenty copies of the document and take it with you to a meeting?
- Do you send it out to media for area-wide (even nationwide) advertising?
- Or do you stop and think, "Maybe this needs a fresh pair of eyes".
Everybody needs an editor - professional writers, business executives, administrative assistants, public servants - EVERYONE. Except for casual emails, anyone who wishes to make a positive impression on their colleagues or customers should run their written materials by an editor. This fresh pair of eyes will help ensure that what you say about your company or project will leave a lasting, positive impression.
Once you've decided to hire an editor, there are some steps you can take that will save the editor time and SAVE YOU MONEY. Here are some self-editing exercises:
- Print a hard copy. Sometimes, seeing your writing on paper will reveal more errors than what you can see on the screen.
- Read your writing out loud. In this exercise, you'll hear where you've used improper grammar as well as an overuse of rhyme or rhythm. You'll immediately recognize when you've omitted some words.
- Read it backwards. You've read your paper so often, you can hear it in your head. Try reading in backwards. You'll catch misspellings, incorrect word choices and duplicated words.
- Spellcheck, but don't rely on this tool. The spellchecker will not pick up all improper word choices (i.e. choose / chose).
- Delete that clever turn-of-phrase. You may enjoy your cleverness, but you might lose your readers. It's best to keep ideas simple.
- Kill the commas. Except in the usual places - such as before the word "but", in a series, or around a parenthetical expression - consider the use of other forms of punctuation or when in doubt, leave it out.
Once you've tidied up a bit, you can send this to the editor who will fine-tune your work while at the same time, maintain your voice, your objectives and your ideas.
