I was horrible at spelling as a kid. So bad that my parents bought me The Bad Speller’s Dictionary. You look up a word’s common misspelling to find the correct one. Only I didn’t even know those — my letter combinations were worse. Then, along came spellcheck and I knew I had the last laugh. Lookin’ at you, Mrs. Czphiel. 😉 While spelling may no longer be an obstacle to composing quality content, editing your work is still critical to:
Ensuring readability
Writing something fit for purpose
Mastering content flow
Here are my 3 easy to remember editing tips: 1.Print it out. While your computer screen may
occasionally lie and tell you everything looks fine, paper is brutally honest. Somehow the black and white allows you to uncover mistakes you missed a minute ago on the screen. Grab your red ballpoint pen and play your favorite 10th grade English teacher. Only forget the low reading glasses. When content is already laid out on a magazine or eBook page, this step is even more important. Seeing the copy the way the reader will experience it means every error will jump out at you - from an extra
space to a typo or an incongruent line. Ask yourself: Does this content look the way you want the reader to experience it? 2.Read it aloud. A cousin to #1, when you read copy aloud, you’ll catch more mistakes. Think: sentence flow, a missing “the” or “and.” While you’re scanning the page, read your words aloud, as the reader will. You’ll catch every mistake. I promise. Look for micro and macro level problems while you read. Look to see if something is out of order or can be said in fewer words or more digestible language. Substitute simple words in place of more complicated or flowerily language. Readability is key. A favorite example is use vs. utilize. The former says the same thing a lot simpler. 3.Sleep on it.A fresh perspective on the content you slaved over yesterday always produces the sharpest final version. TIP: I print out whatever I write at the end of the day and leave it on the printer. The next morning, I’ve got fresh eyes to edit it. If in the end, you still publish something with a tpyo (happens to the bets of us!), know yo’ure not a lone. 😉 In all seriousness, a whopping 93% of us make email blunders, according to Grammarly. As many as 64% of us admit to embarrassing typos and 50% of us say we wrote something that was misunderstood by our readers. We’re all a work in progress.
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