Dedicated, perservering, and attentive. Someone who sweats the details. A marathon runner. Michaelangelo with the Sistine Chapel. Springsteen with Born To Run. An editor. A waterbird waiting to pounce on a fish. A beaver building a dam.
BasketballThumbs upHey YouSmilesStreeeeetchWho has two thumbs and thinks you're cool?Here are my digits?
Barry Davret is an experienced copywriter. About a month ago, he published a helpful list of 10 things you should check for during the editing process. This is the "how the sausage gets made" part of writing, the nuts and bolts that need to be lined up properly. Here's a couple:
6. Does It Tell The Reader What To Believe Or Does It Lead Them To Conclude?
Don’t you love it when a writer tries to jam an opinion down your throat? That heavy-handed approach may work if your reader already agrees with you. If she doesn’t, your approach backfires. Remember golden rule number one of persuasion.
A reader never doubts a conclusion they deduce on their own.. Telling them what to believe invites resistance.
Think of it this way. Remember the game connect-the-dots from childhood? Connect all the dots for your reader, except the last one.
7. Would Someone Who Knows Little About ___ Understand What I Wrote?
Beware of using terms and lingo your audience will not understand. Nobody will look it up. They’ll just move on. In today’s business content this problem reaches epidemic levels.
Organizations abuse internal lingo when writing blog posts or articles. Outsiders lack understanding of this internal verbiage. If you must use secretive lingo, explain it.
These are great tips, and we'd argue that they're not just for the editing process. These are good things to keep in mind as you're writing. It also speaks to the value of having someone read your work who's not familiar with what you're writing about. They will ask questions you didn't think of, and your writing will improve.
You can review all of Davret's list over at Writing Cooperative.
WritingEditingJargon feeds on lazy mindsGive them 2 and 2, not 4Good, solid adviceFerret out the weasel words?