These days, a lot of what we content creators do is really editing. Our clients throw copy over the fence, and they want it polished and/or beefed up fast.
Creating content from scratch can be stressful, but editing content brings its own challenges. Matthew Langenhop discusses some great ways to deal with them in his article “5 Common Editing Headaches (and How to Solve Them).”
As he puts it, editing can be “ridiculously subjective.” And editors typically have their own unique approaches to “the work of words.” Here are a few tricks he suggests you try. Even if you don’t consider yourself a writer, they’re bound to be helpful.
First of all, get yourself into your “editing brain.” That means being creative and analytical simultaneously, “all while taking a hatchet to content that others might perceive as gold.” The right music in the background can make the task easier. If you find music distracting, try white noise. If you’re in a noisy cubicle environment, try working from home, the library, or your favorite coffee place. And if you’re feeling really stuck, step away from your PC for a short while. Water your plants, take a walk around the block, or fix a cup of coffee. Then press your on switch and get back to work.
After you’ve dealt with your environment, read through the content but don’t make any changes. Instead, jot down notes about what you’d like to change. Or use the comment or highlight features in Word if you’d prefer to stay screen-oriented. I think this is faster and easier. (And here’s a thought, when you get more experienced, get start editing immediately. Surprisingly, that works.)
At this point, you can begin to tackle quality issues in more depth. Mr. Langenhop favors removing content that won’t benefit the article and the reader. He also likes the idea of creating an outline. Yeah, I know, outlines take time, but if you create a simple one and return it to the writer along with the original content, you may ultimately save time.
And speaking of time, does it feel as though editing takes longer than it should? Mr. Langenhop notes that 90 percent of an editing job happens in the first 30 minutes. The final 10 percent is the time suck. Are you being more of a perfectionist than necessary? If so, reduce the number of read-throughs you do. And time yourself. Set a timer for less time than you normally spend on a similar job—say an hour if you spend an hour and a half. Then when the timer goes off, do a read-through to assess how far you’ve gotten. You’ll probably find ways to speed up without sacrificing quality.
Finally, be prepared to fill in gaps or back up the writer’s claims if they seem a bit sketchy. This will involve research. And you’ll probably need to do it fast. If you’re writing for a publication, do a search of its website. This may help you turn up a link that you can plug into the content you’re editing. (The publication will probably appreciate that too.) And sharpen up your search engine skills. Ultimately that will be worth your time. You can find great tips at TechRepublic and Lifehacker.
Writing is a noble pursuit. Editing is an equally noble pursuit. When you edit, you elevate a piece by improving flow, improving word choice and grammar, and (often) interpreting a writer’s intent so that readers can fully appreciate what’s being said.
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