Marigolds are beautiful this season (of course, nothing to do with editing)!
Those that write blogs, letters, website updates, email, or even people that are in a profession that involves writing, all know how difficult it is to edit their own work.
The dictionary definition of edit: prepare for publishing. And on that same dictionary page I see the word encyst: defined as an enclosure. Flip to the “I’s” and find insist (pronounced exactly the same as encyst). We all know what happens with “sounds like words,” the mind thinks one word and easily writes another.
Recently I wrote a blog post regarding shipping and handling charges. I left out one extremely important word, which made a huge difference in interpretation. Had I not corrected the error, I would have been paying money out my nose. Did I proofread my work? Oh yes! First I read the original copy, a few minutes later I read the preview. Hours later I printed the preview and read it again. As a last check I read the final published copy on my phone. The finished product made sense to me. I did not see any typos.
Funny!
So, how do you edit? Perhaps you are one of the extremely blessed ones that write exactly what you are thinking, smooth as silk. But, like me, you may write what you think, and hear what you think, but you cannot see the obvious once in print. I listed my editing steps in the paragraph above. What I am doing differently today is reading the post out loud. Wow, what a difference it makes! If you do not take this step already, and if you need help with editing, try it!
Credits: Webster’s Dictionary (1981 Thumb-Ease version, well worn), and Lynnanne (thank you) for asking questions and pointing out what was not clear.
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