I’ve found that editing is the difference between an okay article and a great one. Now, I spend as much time editing as I do researching & writing, sometimes even more. I can easily spend 6-8 hours editing a 3,500-word piece, often over two days. This allows some distance so when I return, I’m seeing it with fresh eyes.

It’s similar to recording a song: you might spend 10 hours in the studio laying down a track and doing a rough mix, convinced you’ve recorded a hit. But it's the next morning, when you sit down in front of those monitors and hit play again, where the distance produces the necessary space for honest reflection, and in a matter of seconds you know whether or not you have something.