Every writer needs an editor. Authors stare at our work for so long that eventually, our brains see things how we want them to be. Not necessarily the way they are. Spell check doesn’t pick up similar words that are spelled right, but have the wrong intent. Sometimes, we just never know how jumbled that sentence comes across to the reader. A second set of eyes never, ever hurts. And the right professional editor makes our work shine.
But, as writers, we always strive to improve our writing. Self-editing is one way to do that. Plus, your actual editor might send you a thank-you gift for sending them the most polished copy of your writing.
Here are three of my favorite techniques for self-editing your work.
Self-Editing Technique #1: Microsoft Word’s Read-Aloud Function
Microsoft Word has an amazing feature that reads your text to you. Many other programs, including Scrivener, also have this feature. When your writing is read aloud, you’ll hear any sort of awkward syntax, mistaken words, and more.
Listening to your work takes the eyes off the words and gives your a brain a different way to process it. You’ll be surprised how many edits you make just by listening to your work read aloud.
Self-Editing Technique #2:
Invest in Grammarly or ProWritingAid
Both programs are fantastic. They offer more than just spellcheck and grammar. ProWritingAid, for instance, analyzes overused words, jargon, and more.
While they can be a bit expensive, if you’re a writer who produces work regularly, they are worth having. ProWritingAid usually offers a Black Friday discount for their lifetime deal every year, so be on the lookout for that.
Self-Editing Technique #3:
Read Your Work Backward
I know, it sounds strange, but if you read your work from the last sentence to the first, you take it out of order. Your brain isn’t reading in terms of what it should expect. When you read linearly, you know what’s supposed to come next, and sometimes we see an incorrect word as a correct one.
Our brains are tricky little beasts like that. Reading backwards takes away the smooth, fluid writing you worked so hard to create. It makes it jagged and out of order, which allows our brains to register more mistakes.
Self-Edit Whether Or Not You Use An Editor
Whether or not you’re using a professional editor, you always want to provide the most polished and grammatically correct work possible. This will make your editor extremely happy. You might find yourself having to pay less if your work is more polished.
No matter what, learning how to effectively self edit takes your work to the next level. It's a skill every writer should invest in.
What’s your favorite self editing technique? Tell me in the comments!
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