12 Editorial Skills You Need to Become a More Efficient Editor

I think about myself to be an excellent editor, however I solely bought to the place I’m at this time by working towards my editorial abilities. 

Being an excellent editor is a muscle you must follow.

On this piece, I’ll go over the way to enhance your modifying abilities with 12 methods I used (and nonetheless use) to edit extra effectively whereas sustaining the integrity of the unique writer’s phrases. 

I self-edit every little thing I write for the HubSpot Weblog. I additionally run Breaking the Blueprint, a weblog column that primarily publishes content material by exterior contributors whose writing I’ve to edit. 

The modifying abilities I’ve developed assist me be certain that my writing, and that of exterior writers, is sweet and useful for readers such as you. Let’s go over a few of my tried and true strategies.

12 Methods to Save Time Whereas Enhancing a Piece of Writing

1. Discover a quiet house to do your modifying.

Do not attempt to get your modifying achieved in a gathering, or if you’re round chatty coworkers.

Research shows that multitasking like that may make us far much less efficient at our work and enhance errors and stress. And if you’re modifying, you are attempting to catch these errors so that you need to be further diligent.

As an alternative, I recommend discovering a spot the place you may plug in and focus on what’s in entrance of you. For those who’re working via an editorial that’ll require quite a lot of hours of cautious modifying, block out chunks of uninterrupted time with small breaks in between (the Pomodoro method). 

Because it can take 23 minutes to get back on track after receiving a notification, you may think about turning off these pesky e-mail and social media notifications or placing your cellphone on airplane mode to essentially hone your focus.

2. Be certain the subject aligns together with your content material technique.

You is likely to be tempted to dig into the meat of the piece and start meticulously modifying it immediately. 

As editors, it is essential for us to place the content material into context earlier than diving into the small print.

First, take a fast skim of the working title and the primary concepts coated within the piece. Suppose to your self:

• Does this subject align with our content material technique?
• Will our readers and purchaser personas care about it?
• Does every part move naturally into the subsequent?

For those who’re involved the piece is not a few subject your readers shall be fascinated with, take into consideration the way to tweak the angle.

You will additionally need to replicate on how the piece suits in with what you have written up to now — particularly if the piece is a weblog put up.

Serps like Google might see the second post as duplicate content and penalize you in search.

Even when Google would not think about it duplicate content material, competing for key phrase rating towards one other put up from your personal weblog will damage your search engine marketing technique.

The questions I like to recommend asking listed below are:

• Have we coated this subject comprehensively up to now?
• Does this provide a recent angle and perspective?

If each solutions are sure, you may think about updating and republishing the unique draft.

3. Learn for content material and concepts first, grammar second.

I like to recommend studying via your complete piece earlier than making detailed edits. This can allow you to replicate on it holistically and pinpoint areas for enchancment. 

This will look like I’m including time right here, however belief me, it will prevent a variety of time and ache in the long term. For those who’ve ever began modifying a bit line-by-line solely to comprehend it must be utterly restructured, what I imply.

The important thing takeaway right here is to acknowledge when the piece wants extra work from the writer.

“Generally, an writer sends a bit in earlier than it is able to be edited,” stated Corey Wainwright, HubSpot’s Web site CRO strategist & copywriter at HubSpot.

“Studying to acknowledge these situations can prevent a ton of time as a result of in any other case you begin simply rewriting the piece, which is not useful to both of you.”

Ginny Mineo, former Advertising Weblog supervisor at HubSpot, agrees: “Your job, as an editor, is to protect the voice of your author whereas ensuring they’re assembly your high quality bar.”

For those who discover the piece doesn’t move nicely, the introduction must be tightened up, or there aren’t sufficient factors within the article to satisfy your high quality requirements, I like to recommend sending that suggestions to the writer.

It’ll be extra productive than altering every little thing round your self.

If the piece wants an awesome quantity of modifying assist, then the writer’s writing is probably not a match on your publication – and you will save a variety of time by telling the contributor outright.

4. Test for locations the place the writer can fill within the blanks.

Other than offering bigger, extra broad suggestions, you also needs to learn via the piece to determine smaller enhancements that you may want (or want) the writer’s assistance on.

Listed below are some questions I ask myself when doing this:

• Are there any structural inconsistencies within the piece? For example, in the event that they included an instance in each part of the piece apart from one or two, you may ask them to search out one for every of these sections.
• Are there any factors that want any, extra, or higher proof? Statistics and information can elevate the standard of your content material and make it extra attention-grabbing for readers.
• Are any sources lacking citations? It is a massive one.

As you learn, take notes on these factors in an e-mail draft to the writer. When you’re achieved, be sure you clear up the notes so that they’re understandable.

5. Bookmark useful web sites for fast referencing.

As soon as the content material, concepts, and construction of the piece are all able to go, you will get right down to the nitty-gritty.

That is the place I wish to maintain just a few web sites bookmarked for reference. Listed below are those I choose.

6. Hold helpful code snippets shut at hand.

Together with bookmarking useful web sites, it is also a good suggestion to have all these helpful snippets of HTML or different code that you just have a tendency to make use of simply accessible.

For instance, you may use particular code to incorporate a “Featured Snippet” module in your CMS.

I save code snippets in a doc to make this course of simpler. When it comes time so as to add them to the supply code, I merely pull up the notice, copy the code, and plug within the snippets as wanted. 

Here’s an in-depth intro to HTML so you may study useful coding hacks.

7. Learn the piece out loud.

Though this tip is nearer to the top of my checklist, it’s one in all my favourite modifying strategies. 

Why? It is nice for recognizing errors. I’m more likely to search out clumsy sentences and different issues after I learn aloud. 

Finest-selling writer David Sedaris told Fast Company he makes use of this verbal method to fine-tune his writing: “I used to hate it when a e book got here out or a narrative was printed, and I’d be like ‘d—, how did I not catch that?’ However you just about all the time catch it if you’re studying out loud.”

Studying out loud will allow you to catch these errors within the first go-round, saving you time later.

8. Use “Discover and Change” to shortly repair widespread errors.

All of us have phrases that journey us up, regardless of how lengthy we have been writing or modifying.

Give it some thought: What are the errors you are inclined to make when writing or modifying? What issues do you are inclined to miss?

As you edit, you are able to do a “discover and change” earlier than publishing to catch any errors that slipped via the cracks. It is a faster solution to polish a bit than manually looking.

To do a “Discover and Change,” hit Management + F on a PC (or Command + F on a Mac), kind in your downside phrase or phrase, and click on “Discover.”

9. Do a closing verify on Microsoft Phrase.

It would not matter how meticulously you eyeballed an editorial: Most of the time, you will discover further errors utilizing spell verify that you’d in any other case miss.

I like to recommend pasting the content material into Microsoft Phrase (length-permitting) for a closing verify. For those who choose a unique writing software program with spell verify, use that. That is additionally when you may paste it right into a software like Grammarly or Hemingway Editor.

Then, you may undergo it and assess any pink or inexperienced squiggly strains you see.

10. Step away, then come again. 

Generally, I’ve been modifying a bit for therefore lengthy, whether or not mine or another person’s, that every little thing begins to sound dangerous. 

I take that as a transparent sign that I have to step away, reset, and are available again with recent eyes. The size of time you “step again” is determined by your desire. Generally, I step away for a few hours; typically, I received’t even have a look at it for just a few days. 

After I get again to it, it’s simpler for me to determine something that wants modifying as a result of I haven’t been studying the identical sentences again and again. 

My recipe for achievement is combining this tip and the earlier one: taking a step again, after which studying it aloud as my first step after I come again.

11. Know when the content material is sweet sufficient.

I do know in addition to every other editor that letting go of perfectionism is difficult. But it surely seems that perfectionism, whereas useful in sure contexts, can become a major roadblock for productivity.

There’ll all the time be one thing you are able to do to enhance an editorial. You may consider “achieved” as spending each potential minute bettering, sprucing, and refining a bit till it is whittled to perfection.

However what are you sacrificing by making extra, minor enhancements? And are these sacrifices sensible? Are they price your time? In some unspecified time in the future, that you must ask your self: “When is ‘ok’ ok?”

After all, figuring out what the edge for “ok” is simpler stated than achieved. Here is a useful system to provide you some route:

1. The piece efficiently solves the issue, addresses the necessity, or conveys the message meant.
2. It’s clearly and distinctly on model.
3. The standard of labor is according to or above the extent of earlier work.
4. It has been totally but objectively scrutinized by different certified people.
5. The ultimate resolution of desire had been left within the fingers of the creator.

Just remember to full an important modifying and proofreading duties. Then, as soon as you have refined a bit sufficient to maneuver on … simply transfer on.

12. Hold this pre-publish checklist useful.

Earlier than you hit “publish,” it is time to do a closing once-over to be sure you’ve checked all of the containers.

Whereas this looks like one other further step, keep in mind that that is an funding of time that’ll prevent from having to return to the piece later to make edits and changes.

As such, use this online editing and proofreading checklist when doing all of your closing verify. Be happy to additionally add to the checklist, as you could have further steps in your course of.

Finally, being an environment friendly editor requires focus, consideration to element, and the flexibility to know when to cease. With this checklist at your disposal, you may be higher very quickly.

Editor’s Word: This put up was initially printed in April 2016 and has been up to date for comprehensiveness.