©iStock.com/zimmytws
While larger publications often use a copy editor, smaller publications often do not.
This means that it is doubly important for us to check over our own work.
Self-editing is hard, though. It’s easy to miss your own mistakes. That’s because when you read something you’ve written, your mind tends to “fix” minor mistakes in the copy. So what you think you read is not actually what you wrote.
Plus, time-rushed freelance writers may be tempted to skip this step. A good copy-edit takes time. If you’ve got a lot of deadlines, you may feel you don’t have that time.
In this post I share ten tips to make editing your own work easier. I call them the ten golden rules of self-editing.
Self Editing Rules
Most good writers know to review their writing before turning it in.
Even if you’re lucky enough to write for a publication that uses a copy editor, you don’t want to become known as that writer whose work always needs to be cleaned up before it can be published.
I’ve modified my self-editing steps over the years. I want to make sure that the work I turn in is as clean as possible.
Here are my self-editing rules:
- Don’t skip self editing. Sure, you feel good about that draft you just finished. It’s even possible there are no mistakes in it. But why take the chance? Include the time for self-editing in your writing quotes. That way you won’t feel quite so rushed.
- Let some time pass. Don’t wait until right before a piece is due to finish it. Allow yourself time to take a break between writing and reviewing your writing. You’re more likely to catch mistakes if you wait. I wait a few hours before I edit my drafts.
- Use spell-check. Sure, spell-check doesn’t catch everything. But it will catch some mistakes. So, go ahead and run that spell-checker. Check with an online dictionary for the spelling of any words you’re not sure about.
- Use other tools if you have them. There are many other helpful tools available to writers. If you have other tools, use them. I’ve already written about how I use the Hemingway Editor App to make my writing style more concise.
- Don’t rely on the tools. The tools are great, but in the end they are just based on algorithm. Even the best tools miss a lot of mistakes. Just because the tool didn’t find any mistakes doesn’t mean there aren’t any.
- Read your piece the way your reader would. One of the best ways to review a piece is to read it the way a reader would. Is the piece organized in a way that makes sense? Does it contain the information your reader would want to know?
- Read it from the end to the start. Reading your piece in a different order than it was written in helps you find and fix more mistakes. I don’t know why this works, but it does.
- Look at your piece again after it’s formatted. Grammar, style, and spelling aren’t your only worries. You also need to worry about formatting mistakes. For example, no one wants to read an article or post where you forget to turn the bold tag off.
- Double-check your links. If you’ve ever been frustrated by a broken link in an article or post, you can relate to this rule. Make sure each link works and that it is connected to the right site.
- Finally. You are done. Go ahead and turn the piece in now. There’s still a slim chance you missed something. But you did your best to check your work. Your odds of turning in error-free work are much greater after following these self-editing rules.
This post is a re-write of my post, Five Proofreading Tips That You Can Use Right Now By Yourself. As you can see, my self-editing process is a little more detailed now. I think the longer process is worth it since it helps me turn in cleaner copy.
Your Turn
What self-editing steps do you use to review your own work before turning it in? Share your thoughts in the comments.
10 responses so far ↓
1 Giorgia Garavini // Sep 25, 2015 at
Very good article, Laura, which also applies to translators (like me!) when we proofread our own work. I think this is an essential part of the task in order to make sure you are happy with the final project to be delivered and see it as you say at point no. 6. Apart from always remembering to allow time for it when organizing my work schedule, I find it useful to print the text out. A different support (paper instead of a screen, for example, helps me spot mistakes better).
2 Laura Spencer // Sep 25, 2015 at
Hi Giorgia,
Good point about translators. I can see how this would apply to them too.
Yes, it’s important allow yourself enough time to check over your work. Also, you should include your review time in the estimate you base your fee on.
Self-editing is one of those tasks that’s easy to overlook, but it makes a big difference in the quality of your work.
3 donnaanddiablo // Sep 25, 2015 at
Great tips, Laura. I also make it a practice to print out my draft and read it in hard copy as well as on the screen. For whatever reason, I’ll often catch little nitnoid things that way that I missed before. — Lori
4 Laura Spencer // Sep 25, 2015 at
Hi Lori,
I do sometimes print my draft out, as you mention. But I’ve also experimented with going paperless so as not to waste paper.
I’ve found that if I look at the post after it is formatted, it’s almost as good as if I print it out.
5 mdy // Sep 25, 2015 at
Point no.2 (let some time pass) is the tactic that I’ve found to make the most difference for me personally. There’s nothing like re-reading your work with fresh eyes.
From the tools standpoint, I use http://grammar.ly heavily these days. I stayed on the free edition for several months, but I finally signed up for a paid subscription when they announced a back-to-school promo a few weeks ago that offered a 50% discount. 🙂
The other tactic that I’ve found very useful during editing is to read my work out loud. The act of reading out loud forces me to slow down and look at individual words instead of just skimming the text. I’ve also found and fixed instances when I’ve used the same terms repeatedly in adjacent sentences by using this tactic.
Thanks for sharing your tips, Laura! 🙂
6 Laura Spencer // Sep 26, 2015 at
Hi Mdy,
Yes. Letting time pass is critical. I tend to refer as breathing time.
It’s great that you got a good deal on an editing tool. I tend to look for deals like that too.
Reading out loud is a great tip. I sometimes use it for shorter pieces.
Thanks so much for your input. 🙂
7 Sofi Dagnon // Sep 29, 2015 at
Hi Laura,
All of these are excellent points. I find it helpful to read the piece again on a different colored background. I write and edit on white but final proofread on light gray. For some reason it makes it easier to catch minor mistakes that my eyes pass up otherwise.
8 Laura Spencer // Sep 30, 2015 at
Hi Sofi,
Great tip. I’d actually never thought of looking at the text on a different colored background.
After reading your tip, I’ll be sure to try it. Thanks for sharing.
9 Weekly translation favorites (Oct 9-15) // Oct 16, 2015 at
[…] 150 Resources to Help You Write Better, Faster, and More Persuasively 7 Sites for Free (and Beautiful!) Stock Photos I Smell Your Rookie Moves, New Writers Eight Steps to Writing Faster, Better 10 Golden Rules of Self-Editing […]
10 Improve Your Audience Engagement — AtomicWriter Review & Super Savings // Oct 22, 2015 at
[…] example, I used AtomicWriter to score my recent post, 10 Golden Rules of Self-Editing. Here’s what I […]