How to Edit you Article if you don’t have an Editor
An article is incomplete without editing. It helps to improve the quality of the article, considerably. Editing removes banality and makes the articles readable.
Editing, however, is not easy. It takes time and energy. if you don’t like to editing, then hiring an editor for your article can be costly.
So, it is advisable in today’s world of self-publishing to edit the article yourself. Now, editing is not everybody’s cup of tea, so, how do we do it?
That is precisely the problem we seek to resolve here:
Don’t edit while you write:
First Draft is just for writing, not for editing. Do not attempt to edit as you write, the only thing you will end up doing decreasing your speed and making the process long and boring.
One must write carelessly, the goal is to put words on the page. Spellings, grammar, verbiage, prose, etc. do not matter. Feel free to make mistake, no one will read this draft, except you.
Just write, don’t edit.
Take a break:
After completing the first draft let it sit, take your mind of the article. Seeing your work closely for a long time can make you oblivious of the mistakes in your writing.
Let your mind relax.
After a break, you will come with a fresh perspective for the piece. With a clear mind, you can see the mistakes more clearly; which were unnoticeable to you in the first draft.
Read it out loud:
Before starting the editing process, allow yourself to read the piece out loud. Reading out loud makes you aware of the mistakes, unwanted breaks in the syntax and rhythm of your article. This helps you understand the structure of your writing better and brings more clarity to the piece.
Getting the rhythm right improves the overall structural readability of your article.
Make information concise:
Convey more information in the least words possible. Perspicuity is important to convey the message effectively. It helps in not losing readers, by useless information.
Small concise sentences are easily understood.
Use Grammarly:
Grammarly is a simple and effective tool used across the ranks by writers. If you can spend on the premium version, then, by all means, go for it. Otherwise, the free version too is immensely valuable in improving the quality of your article.
Grammarly is a must-have for writers, it’s your pocket copy-editor.
It’s perfectly okay to write garbage — as long as you edit brilliantly.
— C. J. Cherryh
I hope these tips will help in improving your editing process and you will have a happy time editing.
Agastya is a writer and illustrator based in Delhi, who creates new worlds through his words, lines and paints. He loves listening to podcasts while he creates art and mostly writes while traveling to work. He writes stories, articles and is working on his debut fantasy novel.
