Writing! Writing is an essential part of a writer’s job. But do you think that just writing is enough to get the desired output from the audience?
Whether he/she is a Blogger, Author, News Reporter, etc. They know the impact of what better writing can have. And hence it’s important to have a good understanding of all the aspects of writing.
A proper blog or an article is not only defined by how it’s written but also by its editing, proofreading, or revision for that matter. One can never correct the errors and make necessary changes in a single read. Each written page needs a reread to check significant errors to be edited in order to create better every single time. As Jodi Picoult says,
“You might not write well every day, but you can always edit a bad page. You can’t edit a blank page”
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Editing Aspects
Editing in writing is basically to rearrange and customize the words in a more effective way where it could showcase the impact which is more relatable to the readers. There are few elements that can help you to understand the work easily.
Ideas
A clear understanding of the subject written and having a proper idea about why it’s written helps the editing process in a better way. If you have a proper idea about the topic, you can edit, move, rewrite the page more clearly with a focused mind. Views of an Editor matter’s a lot. It’s always not only about the Author, Blogger, or Writer but also how an editor projects their skills with their own ideas which make the writing effective.
Structure
The structure of a paragraph is not only important for a writer but also for the editor. The picture format should be clear and focused when it comes to how the writing should be constructed. The overall structure can have topics, subtopics, headlines, etc. which are the main elements an editor should be concern about. While editing, one should understand the importance of layouts, formats, and the balance between theory & practical elements (as required depending on the topic), fonts in order to make it look appealing for the readers.
Clarification
While editing, we feel that editors are only required to work on the spells or grammatical aspect of it. But sometimes, it’s also important to have clarity of ideas and thoughts of the topic written so that the editing becomes more relatable for an editor. If a person is well versed with the topic and knows in-depth, he/she can have their own views to reflect and make the writing better with their suggestions.
Relevancy
Have you ever noticed in a blog or an article where you feel the topic does not do justice to the writing? That means the direction of the writing is drifting which should not happen as it takes the reader’s mind off and can get boring. The editor is as much as responsible as a writer when it comes to relevancy. The topic should be relevant and up to the point without shifting directions from the start till the end. The editor should keep a check on the topic being up to the point without changing its relevancy factor.
Consistency
Consistency over here is not only about the writing style but also about how you are using it in words. Forex, in case you use “&” at few places whereas “and” in other few, it shows lack of consistency. You need to be sure of what set of characters you are using to define a word, dates, currency, designations, etc., and stick to it till the end. Of course, you need to be more focused and apt but again, that’s what editing is all about!
Basic Principles
Patience
While editing, you may have to go through the topic several times which you should as you can never come across all the errors in one go. You need to be calm and compose throughout the process with a focused mind so that one can concentrate on bringing out the best results. Sometimes, it doesn’t matter if things move slowly, but take your own time to analyze the writing patiently.
Feedback
It’s good to have a second opinion or third for that matter. Every person has a different perspective and that can literally help in figuring out some constructive criticism or feedback which can be helpful for the editor.
Interval
Take a break and come back with a fresh mind. It really helps to look at the work from a different angle. Sometimes, it can give a totally new approach to the editor and the writing, and hence it helps to edit with a much better viewpoint.
Detailing
Every editor might have a different approach to how to start the editing process. Usually, the suggestion would be to go word by word or line by line. Approach the writing systematically without directly jumping on the entire paragraph. Even if you have an eagle eye, you may have a high chance of missing out on the errors without a doubt.
Reading
Give it a read in the first attempt without correcting anything and also once the editing is done. To go through the writing with a reader’s perspective gives it a completely different outlook. You can also come across flaws like redundancies, spell checks, misprints, etc. which you may have missed while in the editing process.
Conclusion
I understand that this may be a lot to process but in the end, Editing is the key to any writing. Writers (who aren’t the editors of their work) themselves are depended on editors in various ways so that they could get help and proper feedback from the editors for improvement. Editors are responsible in many ways and I would really be interested to know your thoughts and views on it. Do help me with your comments if there are any other features that are valuable to the topic!