EDITING CHEAT SHEET BY JENNIE HEIDEMAN SOJOURNER AND KEEPER THE FIRST STEP TO BETTER WRITING I love to write. However, I am the first to admit that it can be challenging to take the thoughts in your brain and make them coherent enough to be understood when read by others. And then, after the exhausting task of writing, you have to go back through your work to make sure that your message is clear, understandable, and without spelling and grammatical errors. In an ideal world, you would be able to hire this last step out. However, money is tight, and you can't afford the extra cost. Enter, the Sojourner and Keeper editing cheat sheet. I hope this PDF empowers you to know how to edit your writing and gives you the confidence you need to hit that Publish button. EDITING CHEAT SHEET STEP 1: THE READ-THROUGH Read through your copy without making any changes. Instead, make notes on questions that arise or any inconsistencies you find. But whatever you do, DON'T PROOFREAD! STEP 2: OBJECTIVE AND GOALS Look at your objectives or the message you are trying to convey with your writing and ask yourself the question, "does every piece of this work to convey my point?" Now, read through your copy a second time and eliminate or rewrite text that doesn't work to convey your point. This is also the point where I ask myself, is this a logical, clear argument that is easy to understand? If the point is not clear, I delete or rewrite the text. STEP 3: ORGANIZATION AND FLOW Now, look at the organization and flow of your work. Do you need to move paragraphs or sentences around to improve the flow? Is the piece organized appropriately? Make changes to make sure that your thoughts are well organized and easy to follow. COPYRIGHT 2019 | SOJOURNER AND KEEPER | SOJOURNERANDKEEPER.COM EDITING CHEAT SHEET STEP 4: LANGUAGE AND TONE Look at the overall use of language and tone. Is it consistent? Does your work feel warm and fuzzy in the beginning and then take on a dry, robotic tone later in the piece? Work to make sure the tone and language are consistent. STEP 5: FACT-CHECK Read over the claims you make in your writing. Are they accurate? Double-check your sources, and make sure you are referencing appropriately. STEP 6: GRAMMAR AND PUNCTUATION Read your copy aloud. Make the necessary grammatical and punctuation changes. COPYRIGHT 2019 | SOJOURNER AND KEEPER | SOJOURNERANDKEEPER.COM EDITING CHEAT SHEET STEP 7: GET OUTSIDE HELP Load your copy into a proofreading site (I use Grammarly), and make suggested edits only if they make logical sense. Don't assume that the algorithm has accurately flagged errors. STEP 8: PROOFREAD! This is what you have been waiting for, right? Now is the time to do the final proofread. Also, make sure that sentences and paragraphs are correctly spaced and that your margins are correctly set. STEP 9: PUBLISH Hit the Publish or Send button and relax. If someone points out an error, thank them graciously, and make necessary changes, after all, you are only human! COPYRIGHT 2019 | SOJOURNER AND KEEPER | SOJOURNERANDKEEPER.COM READY TO GET PROFESSIONAL HELP WITH YOUR COPY? It is my joy to help novice and professional writers alike perfect their writing. Click here to see if getting a professional copyeditor is right for you. COPYRIGHT 2019 | SOJOURNER AND KEEPER | SOJOURNERANDKEEPER.COM EDITING CHECKLIST BY JENNIE HEIDEMAN EDITING STEPS Check the box as you complete each step. The first read-thorough Objectives and goals Organization and flow Launguage and tone Fact-check Grammar and punctuation Get outside help Proofread!! Publish COMMENTS & NOTES
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