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WRITER. EDIT THYSELF.

by Mike Sturman - Owner of CONTENT ASSOCIATES

As a veteran editor, I have seen many a story turned in with holes in the content or errors in grammar or style. These types of things do not instill confidence in a writer.

When new writers ask for advice, I tell them to learn how to self-edit.

When veteran writers ask me why I'm so grumpy after reading one of their stories, I say learn how to self-edit.

Writers shouldn't assume that it's an editor's job to fix all the mistakes in a story.

That's just laziness on a writer's part. Besides, before a writer puts his or name on any piece of text, extra time should be taken to ensure its cleanliness.

Credibility and reputation are all writers have.

And no writer wants them sullied by dirty copy -- especially free-lance writers, who are competing with thousands of others who hope to impress editors.

OK. That's the case for self-editing. Now how do you do it? Following are some tips that may help:

1. Plug those holes.

When you're done with a story, close the file and go on to something else for a while. Get away from it and forget about it. Then, when sufficient time has passed -- 24 hours if possible -- open the story
and re-read it. But don¹t read it as the writer; read it as the reader. Come to it cold with no knowledge of the subject and no background. When you come to a point you don¹t understand, is out of context or just doesn't make sense, you've found a hole. Now plug it. Reread the story as many times as possible -- deadline permitting -- to find all the details you left out that could confuse the reader.

2. It or they?

Remember, a musical group, a political group, even legislatures or groups of nations are "its," not "theys." For example:

Wrong: The Senate gave tacit approval to gun control today when they banned
all bullets.
Right: The Senate gave tacit approval to gun control today when it banned
all bullets.

This rule gets bent a bit in sports stories:

Wrong: The Dodgers extended their winning streak Tuesday when they beat the
Giants. (Sounds right.)
Right: The Dodgers extended its winning streak Tuesday when it beat the
Giants. (Sounds terrible, but it's accurate.)

As with every rule, exceptions exist. Generally, I recommend that when following a rule hurts the flow of a story, write around it.

3. Get it right, period.

Nothing drives me nuts more than bad punctuation. Not only is it annoying, a misplaced comma could change the meaning of a sentence or a quote. Because I haven't the space to list all the punctuation rules, I'll just say that grammar and stylebooks are writers' best friends. The following are the ones I keep near:

-- A good college-level dictionary
-- "The Elements of Style," by Strunk and White
-- The Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual (Other stylebooks are
used, so be sure you know which your editor prefers.)
-- A thesaurus, although it is rarely used. Writes should write in plain
language as often as possible.

4. The name game.

Double check all names and titles. One of the worst calls you can get from an editor after an article has been published is the one during which you're told you spelled a source's name wrong. Undoubtedly, that will be the last call you'll get from that editor or publication.

5. A tangled Web.

Similarly, double check all Web sites before you submit the story. Don¹t only check the address for accuracy, be sure they do not include any material that's in bad taste or link to any such site. Sending a
reader of a family site to one that contains pornography can be a career killer.

These are just a few of the ways writers can self-edit and keep their reputation in tact -- and the job offers coming. Remember, reputation is everything.

It only takes a few extra minutes to self-edit your copy, so why not do it?

==========================

<<Mike Sturman>>

Mike Sturman, a 25-year veteran journalist, has held writing and editing positions at newspapers, magazines and a startup Web site. He also is the owner of CONTENT ASSOCIATES (http://www.contentassociates.net), which offers writing and editing services. He believes that good writing is the missing link between success and failure for many Web site owners. Contact Mike at content@contentassociates.net

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