If I had a nickel for every time someone told me they’re not a good writer…well, let’s just say I’d have a lot of nickels.
And you know what, it’s okay! Because there is something you can do that can take your writing from so-so to incredible!
Editing. Editing is your best friend.
Your first draft is the worst draft – and that’s okay! It’s not a big deal because it shouldn’t be your last draft.
And you might be cringing at this point and saying, “Mel, I’m actually not a good editor either. It’s kind of like writing…”
Again, let’s put all that negativity aside, okay?
Because you can be a good editor, and it’s actually not as hard as it looks.
(OR if you have a VA or an assistant, send this article to them and use the checklist below so they can be your second set of eyes!)
#1 – Edit for spelling and grammar.
I personally use Grammarly. (Not an affiliate link – I just really like them!)
Why I like it: because it connects to literally everything, including Microsoft Word, Google Docs, and WordPress.
Why I don’t like it: some of their suggestions make it sound awkward, but I just ignore those ones.
There are other options out there – I know a lot of people also like the Hemingway App. It’s apparently good if you’re overly wordy, but to be honest, I think it goes too far with it. Not all long sentences are bad! (Separate blog post for another day – how to create pace with the length of your sentences!)
So, step one, run your stuff through Grammarly. That should take care of a lot of the problems, like spelling, grammar, etc.
#2 – Read it out loud.
You want your content to be in your voice – obviously – so read it out loud and see if it sounds like you.
So read through and see if it sounds comfortable. If not, how can you change it? How would you say it naturally?
This is where you’ll catch all those little mistakes – like missing words or words that are spelled incorrectly that Grammarly didn’t pick up. For example, if I say “car” but I mean “card”, Grammarly may not pick it up, but I will when I read it out loud.
Bonus points if you read it on a separate day and on a separate screen – those will take your ability to spot things to a whole other level!
#3 – Run it through ChatGPT
I do this all the time – especially if it is a subject that I’m very familiar with. The problem is that we tend to assume everyone knows what we know, and so an objective robot can help us out.
Here’s the prompt that I use: “My audience is [moms, business owners, etc.] and below is a blog article I wrote about [the topic]. Please suggest any improvements and let me know if the article is clear and easily understood.”
It’s basically the closest I can come to going over to someone’s desk and saying, “Hey does this sound okay?” when I’m working at home by myself.
#4 – Look out for filler words
Yes, we want our content to sound natural. And yes, when we speak, we include a lot of filler words.
But you have to take them out of your written content.
It makes it noisy, unclear, and hard to read.
What are filler words?
This gentleman wrote a list of 298 of them.
Does this mean that you should NEVER include any of them? That you should painstakingly remove each and every one of those filler words?
No.
Because sometimes they add emphasis. For example, “each and every” is on the list. But it makes it clear how annoying it would be to go through 298 words and phrases and remove them.
So use them as you would salt. A little bit? Tasty. A lot? Unpalatable.
#5 – Make your writing active
I’m sorry, but I’m going to take us back to English class and talk about active vs. passive voices.
The passive voice goes “object-verb-subject,” and the active voice is “subject-verb-object.”
It’s the difference between “The amazing blog was written by Mel” (passive) and “Mel wrote an amazing blog” (active). Both are self-serving compliments about me, but the second one is less clunky and awkward.
There are times to use both, but generally speaking, you want to limit how much you use passive voice. Active voice = compelling writing = gets your reader excited about you and what you’re talking about!
Using passive voice should be limited to:
- When you don’t want to make it personal or specific (i.e., “mistakes were made”).
- When you want to focus on the object (i.e., “This editing checklist has been used by many business owners…”)
- When you want to make your writing sound more formal (but even then, don’t overdo it!)
#6 – Ask, “So what?”
Generally speaking, no one is reading your content to just gain facts to use at a future trivia night. There needs to be a point. It needs to be practical.
So read through your article again, and at the end of each section, ask, “So what?” Is there something that your readers can do with the information that they’re given? Have you helped them avoid a pitfall? Made a task a little easier?
In any case, make sure that what you’ve written is practical and that the practical value is obvious.
#7 – Are you writing to your audience?
There’s a saying that I love: you don’t bait a hook with what you like to eat.
What does it mean? It isn’t about you. It’s about your audience.
What do they already know? What terms are they familiar with?
Read over your piece one more time and see if you have any industry jargon, unfamiliar acronyms or anything else that might confuse your audience. If you do, either take it out or explain it.
Blog Editing Checklist
Want all of this neatly summarized into a checklist? Look no further! You can get it right here: Editing Checklist
BONUS TIP: Get help from a friend
You don’t need to do this alone – especially now that Write it Wednesday is here.
Join me every first and third Wednesday of the month as we work together to write your content, answer any questions and generally make the whole process easier.
