By Malissa The Writer
Editing is not for the faint…
Do you edit your writing? Meaning, do you reread your work and check for errors? If not, shame on you. I’m sorry, but it’s true. Some people have the misconception that editing is hard or only editors can edit writing and that’s not true. You must edit your own work before anyone else does; whether you’re a novelist or a 9 to 5 professional. Everyone who writes a sentence should edit that sentence for errors.
There’s levels to editing and I believe there are 4 types. The first is “self editing” and that’s when you edit your own work; which everyone should be doing all the time. I call the second one “ask a friend editing” which is when a friend who writes better than you reviews your work as a second pair of eyes. The third is “professional writer” and this is a person that writes professionally for a living (print and online publications) and knows more than most when it comes to editing. Finally, the fourth is an “ editor” and that’s a person that professionally edits for a living.
Now, everyone doesn’t need an editor for everything. Usually editors are reserved for big projects like books, short stories, dissertations, and ect. If you’re working on a long report for work you want to ask a friend or professional writer to review your work. For everyday emails, professional letters, and etc. you should do self editing. With all that being said, if for whatever reason you’re not sure of something and can’t fix it ask a friend. It never hurts to have someone read your writing.
There are so many mistakes that we can avoid as writers if we would just edit our work. Editing can have a huge impact on your work to a reader. Self editing enough most times, but if you need more help don’t be afraid to ask for it. Don’t be afraid to share your work with someone else because they’re trying to help make it better! However, if you think they will steal your ideas either get it copyrighted or find someone else, but you still need it edited.
In conclusion, editing is something we all have to do and when you don’t edit you leave yourself open for easy mistakes and make it hard on the reader to comprehend your work. Your writing should flow easily and readers should be able to get into the groove of your work without reading misspelled words, run-on sentences, misuse of commas, and etc. If you remember nothing else from today’s blog #writergang remember this: your writing is a reflection of you.
As always, if you have any questions about this blog post or comments feel free to email me at [email protected].
