Most business writers don’t have an editor on hand. Whether you’re a business owner who writes or an employed writer, the buck usually stops with you when it comes to editing.
So, without an editor, how do you ensure the writing is the best it can be for your reader and your reputation? Easy—you need to think like an editor.
Today we’ll look at five great things an editor does, which you can emulate to find your editor mindset.
1. Editors check spelling and grammar…and other stuff.
Yes, checking spelling and grammar is important, and that’s what most people think editors do. But, in reality, this is actually a proofread and it comes at the very end of the process. There are actually several levels of editing and you should do them all:
- structural/substantive editing—a holistic perspective of the work
- copyediting—a language-level edit (where you end up with scary red pen marks)
- proofreading—what I call the credibility check (for things that will embarrass you later)
- non-text edit—an edit of items like images, quotes, statistics and tables; basic design problems; missing elements; and potential legal issues.
2. Editors look for and fix inconsistencies.
As well as looking for mistakes, editors also look for inconsistencies (and that’s often what actually causes all the red pen).
Inconsistency is a big issue in business writing, especially online. This includes different fonts, different coloured headings, a mix of dashes, inconsistent date formatting and inconsistent spelling throughout the work (e.g. crowdsourcing, crowd sourcing and crowd-sourcing).
To fix inconsistency issues, use a style manual (for general language rules and conventions) and an organisational style guide (for any organisational decisions that differ from the manual).
When you’re going for readability, this is the stuff to fix. Inconsistency is confusing to the reader and just looks unprofessional.
3. Editors work on behalf of the reader as well as the writer.
For me, this is the most important thing that a great editor does. They sit between the reader and the writer to ensure that everyone gets what they need out of the communication transaction—the writer sends out the message that they want to, and the reader receives the message clearly and easily.
Sometimes the tension that occurs between editors and writers happens because the editor is working for the reader and believes the writer is missing the mark. The writer can be too close to the work to be able to see that at first. And this brings us to the next thing that an editor does:
4. Editors have distance from the work.
If you’re both writer and editor, you need perspective or distance from your work.
If you write content for your own organisation, you’re probably quite attached to the content you’re writing, as it’s connected to your passion. If that’s the case for you, try the following suggestions:
- Get time away from the work before you edit it, even if it’s one day.
- Ask someone else who is close to being the ideal reader to read it.
- Put different hats on, e.g. be your ideal reader.
- Examine the work strategically as part of a greater whole.
But if none of this is possible, you can find your perspective by asking the kinds of questions an editor would ask. This is the final thing an editor does that will change your writing immediately once you start doing it:
5. Editors ask the right questions.
Editors ask questions about the writing to establish that it’s going to achieve its goals. This can include questions about the reader, the strategy around the work, how it will be delivered, the timing of the work, whether it can be found online and other questions.
This effort ensures that the communication will succeed in its dual mission to get the message to the reader and get the reader to take the desired action, whether it be liking a Facebook page, sharing the work via social media, engaging your services etc.
So next time you write something, start getting into the habit of asking ‘why’ a lot. If you do, you’ll be on your way to developing your editor mindset!