Keep trimming - how to edit your copy in six steps
I adore copy-editing. It's a massive part of what I do for my clients. And it’s as essential to the writing process as the messy creative bit at the start where you are swirling ideas around in your head while doing the washing up or idling at traffic lights.
Editing is what makes your copy more refined, sharper and succinct.
It’s like when you visit the hairdresser. You know the bit where they’ve done most of the chopping, and then they get those weird-looking scissors out, taking little snips here and there, looking from different angles and selecting a few strands to clip away at?
From a distance, your hair doesn’t look much different, but it's what gives your mane that shampoo-ad swishiness.
Before I share with you my copy-editing process, here's a little history lesson on the origins of this famous editing-related quote.
"If you here require a practical rule of me, I will present you with this: 'Whenever you feel an impulse to perpetrate a piece of exceptionally fine writing, obey it—whole-heartedly—and delete it before sending your manuscript to press. Murder your darlings."
My research tells me the origins are debatable. But people much smarter and well-read than me suggest it originated from British writer Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch. He wrote in his 1916 book On the Art of Writing. Murder sounds pretty harsh, so I’m going to stick with the haircut analogy and suggest instead you “keep trimming.”
Six steps to edit your copy
Read the copy from start to finish. Aloud helps. If you’ve written it yourself, make sure it’s at least four hours (ideally 24hrs) since you wrote it.
Check for jargon and filler words. Find them in my post about writing in plain language.
Then scan for repeated words and find alternatives. (I love Word Hippo for this).
Now look for sentences saying the same thing in a different way and either remove one or combine the two to create one sentence.
Next, check the order and flow. Does it make sense? Does it take the reader on a logical journey or tells a story in sequential order? If not, try moving some of the paragraphs around.
Now it’s time to keep trimming. Are you witty, sassy or funny in every paragraph? I don’t suggest removing it all; the point is not to be left with a copy that’s as dull as dishwater. But less is usually more.
Check out this video for a nifty little example of how I edit copy.
There you have it—six simple steps to edit your copy with the finesse of Vidal Sassoon. Also I'm sure there is a more modern hairdresser I should be referencing, but I visit the hairdressers once or twice a year, so I know nothing.
Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash