Editing - The Overlooked Aspect to Good Copywriting
April 10th, 2008 Dina at Wordfeeder.com“The beautiful part of writing is that you don’t have to get it right the first time, unlike, say, a brain surgeon.” - Robert Cromier
Editing your copy is like crafting a sword: You have to sharpen it so it can kill.
For many writers working today - especially on the web - editing means a quick spell check before sending the copy out the door.
That’s all well and good if you’re just looking to toss up a quick website that nobody gives a second glance. But if you want your copywriting to be effective, you must hone it to a fine point.
This is where good editing skills come in to play.
How to edit your copy
Clean up the excess. Writing your first draft is like vomiting: You’re just trying to get everything up and out as quickly as possible. However, once you’re finished, it’s good to go back through and clean up. Eliminate unnecessary words and paragraphs, get rid of redundancy and tighten your copy.
Check your word flow. Sentences and paragraphs always sound good when they spill out of our brains and onto the page, but like fruit, they tend to rot as time goes by. Go back through your copy and read aloud if you have to. Make the words and paragraphs flow together and sound pleasant to your ear.
Check for clarity. Copywriting must be clear and the reader must quickly grasp the message. A good rule for copywriting is: Tell readers what you’re going to tell them, tell them and then tell them what you’ve just told them.
Check your grammar. Again, don’t rely on the machine to do this for you. There are always mistakes that the computer misses and you don’t want them going off to the client - even though they might not catch it either.
Check your spelling. Computer spell checkers don’t catch everything. They won’t flag the word there when you meant to use the word their, which is why you have to actually read through your entire piece to be sure you’ve used all the right words and spelled them properly.
Ideally, you should let your copy sit for a day or two before coming back to do your edits. However, if that’s not practical, an hour will do. Just put some distance between you and the work before editing. This gives you a fresh perspective and makes it easier to make your copy sharp.
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April 10th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
[…] out this item on editing one’s own […]
April 12th, 2008 at 9:47 pm
Dina - I’m laughing at the term “vomit” as a euphemism for “first draft”!!!!
Funny, I just ranted about spell check the other day on my The BRAT in the HAT blog - spell check is like having your third grade teacher on your computer!! Bad little speller, bad, bad!