12 Editorial Skills You Need to Become a More Efficient Editor

I see myself to beryllium a bully editor, but I only sewage to wherever I americium coming by practicing my editorial skills. 

Being a bully editor is simply a musculus you person to practice.

In this piece, I’ll spell complete really to amended your editing skills pinch 12 strategies I utilized (and still use) to edit much efficiently while maintaining nan integrity of nan original author's words. 

I self-edit everything I constitute for nan HubSpot Blog. I besides tally Breaking nan Blueprint, a blog file that chiefly publishes contented by outer contributors whose penning I person to edit. 

The editing skills I’ve developed thief maine guarantee that my writing, and that of outer writers, is bully and adjuvant for readers for illustration you. Let's spell complete immoderate of my tried and existent methods.

12 Ways to Save Time While Editing a Piece of Writing

1. Find a quiet abstraction to do your editing.

Don't effort to get your editing done successful a meeting, aliases erstwhile you're astir chatty coworkers.

Research shows that multitasking for illustration that tin make america acold little effective astatine our activity and summation mistakes and stress. And erstwhile you're editing, you're trying to catch those mistakes truthful you want to beryllium other diligent.

Instead, I propose uncovering a spot wherever you tin plug successful and ore connected what’s successful beforehand of you. If you’re moving done a portion of penning that’ll require much than a fewer hours of observant editing, artifact retired chunks of uninterrupted clip pinch mini breaks successful betwixt (the Pomodoro method). 

Since it can return 23 minutes to get backmost connected track aft receiving a notification, you mightiness see turning disconnected those pesky email and societal media notifications aliases putting your telephone connected airplane mode to really hone your focus.

2. Be judge nan taxable aligns pinch your contented strategy.

You mightiness beryllium tempted to excavation into nan nutrient of nan portion and statesman meticulously editing it consecutive away. 

As editors, it's important for america to put nan contented into discourse earlier diving into nan details.

First, return a speedy skim of nan moving title and nan main ideas covered successful nan piece. Think to yourself:

• Does this taxable align pinch our contented strategy?
• Will our readers and purchaser personas attraction astir it?
• Does each conception travel people into nan next?

If you're concerned nan portion isn't astir a taxable your readers will beryllium willing in, deliberation astir really to tweak nan angle.

You'll besides want to bespeak connected really nan portion fits successful pinch what you've written successful nan past — particularly if nan portion is simply a blog post.

Search engines for illustration Google mightiness spot nan 2nd station arsenic copy content and penalize you successful search.

Even if Google doesn't see it copy content, competing for keyword ranking against different station from your ain blog will wounded your SEO strategy.

The questions I urge asking present are:

• Have we covered this taxable comprehensively successful nan past?
• Does this connection a caller perspective and perspective?

If some answers are yes, you mightiness see updating and republishing nan original draft.

3. Read for contented and ideas first, grammar second.

I urge reference done nan full portion earlier making elaborate edits. This will thief you bespeak connected it holistically and pinpoint areas for improvement. 

This whitethorn look for illustration I’m adding clip here, but spot me, this will prevention you a batch of clip and symptom successful nan agelong run. If you've ever started editing a portion line-by-line only to recognize it needs to beryllium wholly restructured, you cognize what I mean.

The cardinal takeaway present is to admit erstwhile nan portion needs much activity from nan author.

"Sometimes, an writer sends a portion successful earlier it's fresh to beryllium edited," said Corey Wainwright, HubSpot's Website CRO strategist & copywriter astatine HubSpot.

"Learning to admit those instances tin prevention you a ton of clip because different you commencement conscionable rewriting nan piece, which isn't adjuvant to either of you."

Ginny Mineo, erstwhile Marketing Blog head astatine HubSpot, agrees: "Your job, arsenic an editor, is to sphere nan sound of your writer while making judge they are gathering your value bar.”

If you announcement nan portion doesn’t travel well, nan preamble needs to beryllium tightened up, aliases location aren’t capable points successful nan article to meet your value standards, I urge sending that feedback to nan author.

It’ll beryllium much productive than changing everything astir yourself.

If nan portion needs an overwhelming magnitude of editing help, past nan author's penning whitethorn not beryllium a fresh for your publication – and you'll prevention a batch of clip by telling nan contributor outright.

4. Check for places wherever nan writer tin capable successful nan blanks.

Aside from providing larger, much wide feedback, you should besides publication done nan portion to place smaller improvements that you mightiness want (or need) nan author's thief on.

Here are immoderate questions I inquire myself erstwhile doing this:

• Are location immoderate structural inconsistencies successful nan piece? For instance, if they included an illustration successful each conception of nan portion isolated from for 1 aliases two, you mightiness inquire them to find 1 for each of those sections.
• Are location immoderate points that request any, more, aliases amended evidence? Statistics and information tin elevate nan value of your contented and make it much absorbing for readers.
• Are immoderate sources missing citations? This is simply a large one.

As you read, return notes connected these points successful an email draught to nan author. Once you're done, make judge you cleanable up nan notes truthful they're comprehensible.

5. Bookmark adjuvant websites for speedy referencing.

Once nan content, ideas, and building of nan portion are each fresh to go, you tin get down to nan nitty-gritty.

This is wherever I for illustration to support a fewer websites bookmarked for reference. Here are nan ones I prefer.

• Capitalize My Title –To double-check capitalization based connected your style guide.
• Percent Change Calculator – To make judge nan mathematics is math-ing.
• Your favourite keyword tools – To place apical keywords for nan contented truthful you tin usage them successful nan title, headers, and applicable anchor text.
• Pinterest 'Pin It' Widget Builder – To create 'Pin It' buttons for graphics aliases infographics.
• Grammarly aliases Hemmingway – As a backup successful lawsuit you miss thing while editing.

6. Keep useful codification snippets adjacent astatine hand.

Along pinch bookmarking adjuvant websites, it's besides a bully thought to person each those useful snippets of HTML aliases different codification that you thin to usage easy accessible.

For example, you mightiness usage circumstantial codification to see a “Featured Snippet” module successful your CMS.

I prevention codification snippets successful a archive to make this process easier. When it comes clip to adhd them to nan root code, I simply propulsion up nan note, transcript nan code, and plug successful nan snippets arsenic needed. 

Here's an in-depth intro to HTML truthful you tin study adjuvant coding hacks.

7. Read nan portion retired loud.

Even though this extremity is person to nan extremity of my list, it’s 1 of my favourite editing methods. 

Why? It's awesome for spotting errors. I’m overmuch much apt to find clumsy sentences and different things erstwhile I publication aloud. 

Best-selling writer David Sedaris told Fast Company he uses this verbal attack to fine-tune his writing: “I utilized to dislike it erstwhile a book came retired aliases a communicative was published, and I would beryllium for illustration ‘d—, really did I not drawback that?’ But you beautiful overmuch ever drawback it erstwhile you’re reference retired loud.”

Reading retired large will thief you drawback these errors successful nan first go-round, redeeming you clip later.

8. Use "Find and Replace" to quickly hole communal errors.

We each person words that travel america up, nary matter really agelong we've been penning aliases editing.

Think astir it: What are nan mistakes you thin to make erstwhile penning aliases editing? What things do you thin to miss?

As you edit, you tin do a “find and replace” earlier publishing to drawback immoderate mistakes that slipped done nan cracks. It's a quicker measurement to polish a portion than manually searching.

To do a "Find and Replace," deed Control + F connected a PC (or Command + F connected a Mac), type successful your problem connection aliases phrase, and click "Find."

9. Do a last cheque connected Microsoft Word.

It doesn't matter really meticulously you eyeballed a portion of writing: More often than not, you will find further errors utilizing spell cheque that you would different miss.

I urge pasting nan contented into Microsoft Word (length-permitting) for a last check. If you for illustration a different penning package pinch spell check, usage that. This is besides erstwhile you tin paste it into a instrumentality for illustration Grammarly aliases Hemingway Editor.

Then, you tin spell done it and measure immoderate reddish aliases greenish squiggly lines you see.

10. Step away, past travel back. 

Sometimes, I’ve been editing a portion for truthful long, whether excavation aliases personification else's, that everything starts to sound bad. 

I return that arsenic a clear awesome that I request to measurement away, reset, and travel backmost pinch caller eyes. The magnitude of clip you “step back” depends connected your preference. Sometimes, I measurement distant for a mates of hours; sometimes, I won’t moreover look astatine it for a fewer days. 

When I get backmost to it, it’s easier for maine to place thing that needs editing because I haven’t been reference nan aforesaid sentences complete and over. 

My look for occurrence is combining this extremity and nan erstwhile one: taking a measurement back, and past reference it aloud arsenic my first measurement erstwhile I travel back.

11. Know erstwhile nan contented is bully enough.

I cognize arsenic good arsenic immoderate different editor that letting spell of perfectionism is hard. But it turns retired that perfectionism, while adjuvant successful definite contexts, can go a awesome roadblock for productivity.

There will ever beryllium thing you tin do to amended a portion of writing. You mightiness deliberation of "done" arsenic spending each imaginable infinitesimal improving, polishing, and refining a portion until it's whittled to perfection.

But what are you sacrificing by making more, insignificant improvements? And are those sacrifices realistic? Are they worthy your time? At immoderate point, you request to inquire yourself: “When is 'good enough' bully enough?”

Of course, knowing what nan period for "good enough" is easier said than done. Here's a adjuvant look to springiness you immoderate direction:

1. The portion successfully solves nan problem, addresses nan need, aliases conveys nan connection intended.
2. It is intelligibly and distinctly connected brand.
3. The value of activity is accordant pinch aliases supra nan level of erstwhile work.
4. It has been thoroughly yet objectively scrutinized by different qualified individuals.
5. The last determination of penchant had been near successful nan hands of nan creator.

Make judge that you complete nan astir important editing and proofreading tasks. Then, erstwhile you've refined a portion capable to move connected ... conscionable move on.

12. Keep this pre-publish checklist handy.

Before you deed "publish," it's clip to do a last once-over to make judge you've checked each nan boxes.

While this seems for illustration different other step, retrieve that this is an finance of clip that'll prevention you from having to return to nan portion later to make edits and adjustments.

As such, usage this online editing and proofreading checklist erstwhile doing your last check. Feel free to besides adhd to nan list, arsenic you whitethorn person further steps successful your process.

Ultimately, being an businesslike editor requires concentration, attraction to detail, and nan expertise to cognize erstwhile to stop. With this database astatine your disposal, you'll beryllium amended successful nary time.

Editor's Note: This station was primitively published successful April 2016 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.