The Importance of Editing
Is Editing Important?
As an Editor, I have to say, “No, it’s not important. It’s absolutely VITAL!”
Please. For the sake of your writing, your readers and any future reputation you wish to gain, please, please, PLEASE edit your work.
Send it out to an editor if you can, especially if it’s something huge, like a novel or dissertation. I’ve edited a number of novels and a few dissertations for students and though the work hasn’t won any Pulitzer Prizes, most of my clients tell me their work was improved by my editing and their work is improving by listening to advice – not just mine, I don’t know everything.
Truth be told, I think writing is a fluid medium and I’m always learning.
For blogs etc, if you can’t edit, at least re-read before you hit ‘POST’. If you have a friend you can get to look over your work, so much the better, even if they’re at the same level of expertise as yourself, a fresh pair of eyes can often spot typos, errors. Even the tiniest of tweaks and improvements can help make your work stand out – and stand out for the right reason.
With novel writers I advise work be put aside for at least a month and go back to it with those fresh eyes I mentioned earlier. That’s not possible or practical with blog posts such as Steemit, however. That’s why I advise re-reading your work.
Finish the post, but instead of sending it out onto the Steemit platform naked and vulnerable, give your work as much advantage as you possibly can. Clothe it, dress it up nicely and give it a good armour-plate to help it stand up for itself.
Grab a coffee, find the pictures you need and take a little time over choosing the right ones. When you’ve put the pictures in the right places, re-read your post. Even the time it took to make that coffee can give your brain a pause for thought so it doesn’t go back over the work thinking, ‘Yeah, yeah, I wrote this so it has to be perfect…’ Trust me, every brain does that, you have to train it. The coffee can help too, a little bit of caffeine to boost those brain cells…
When all is said and done, typos, mistakes and general sloppiness won’t kill you, but it won’t do you any favours either.
The last thing a writer needs is for their audience to skim over their work because they can’t cope with the typos, the grammatical errors. Not every reader will be so picky, but can you afford to alienate even one? Especially if that ‘one’ is someone you’d rather was following you than ignoring you?
Thanks for reading.
That said, is it just me or am I sensitive to this? I think there needs to be a break (as indicated below).
Hey @kevinwong, no there shouldn't necessarily be a break where you indicate. There wouldn't be a break under 'normal' circumstances off-Steemit and here, on Steemit, it didn't jerk the reader out of the reading experience.
I understand that paragraph breaks are more welcome on the Steemit platform because it makes the text easier to read, but it wasn't a massive block of text and so didn't really need one.
Having said that, I understand your point, if I'm using paragraph breaks between each paragraph, there should be one there.
Thanks for commenting.
Yup I think you figured it out. I've always wondered why I tend to be a little cautious when I spot that, I think I've done too much speed curation (go through at least 150 articles / day)
I think this platform is a little more flexible. There aren't really any set rues when it comes down to the art of writing and literature. A poem doesn't have to rhyme, it doesn't even have to make sense.
I re-read the part you pointed out and I agree with you that there should be a break there, but I also agree with myself that it didn't need one.
I suppose what I'm saying is don't be too harsh when you're checking articles. I assume you're supposed to be enjoying it too. My advice is sit back a little and enjoy it more. :)
Haha - so now you need to write an article on "Take it easy when reading unedited articles." ; )
There's an idea! :)
Hi @steemitwrite
Very true!!
Hi @rynow! Thanks for commenting and for agreeing with me.
Yes, yes, yes! I am in several writing groups on FB and I almost die when I see the segments of novels that people put on there to advertise.
I no longer comment on typos, grammar etc on Facebook. It took a while but I figured I didn't want to be that grammar Nazi.
Haha! Don't comment either, especially in those groups because most of them are overly sensitive and don't accept constructive criticism.
You're not wrong there! Unfortunately, some people do see constructive criticism as a personal attack.
Personally, I always wanted to know if someone found something wrong in my books, I want to correct it and make things better if possible :)
Is there a steemit group for shared proofreading?
I don't know. I don't know how @steemcleaners would cope if we posted the proofed article after posting the (almost) same thing previously.
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An excellent article @steemitwrite. I try to be very conscious of what I post and have been in the habit of leaving errors alone on Steemit because the original is on the blockchain anyway.
One thing I like to do is read my text out loud to see if it flows, especially with the fiction writing. As a former editor and manager for the obituary department at a daily newspaper, you'd better believe editing was important! And being in a position to hire people for that department, I checked their resume for ANY errors because if they don't care enough to edit that piece, they sure won't care what they put in the paper! That's my theory and I'm sticking with it. :)
What an excellent theory!
Thank you, I'm a little (a lot) anal when it comes to correcting errors in text but I have learned there's a time and a place!
Reading your work out loud is an excellent tip - one I use myself.