Copyediting Tips Please

Read, edit, read, edit, read edit, and so on...

Generally out loud.

That's the macro view of it.

But to break it down, I'm always looking for a number of things.

• Flow? Do I stumble when I read it?
• Have I stayed as concise as possible? Can I say it in less words and it still be as powerful?
• Are there any areas which need more emotional attachment?
• Are there any areas which are "weak" and could do with a revamp?

There's probably more... but I can't think of them right now.

Read it out loud. You'll find awkward phrasing more easily. The eyes tend to gloss over things they've seen over and over again, and the brain will insert missing words or correct misspellings.

Second, give it time. Don't try to edit while writing, and don't try to immediately shift gears. Writing and editing are two different skill sets, and trying to edit while writing can actually prevent you from finishing the damn thing.

Put it somewhere out of sight for a few days and then come back to edit. Fresh eyes will find much more.

And don't be afraid to "kill your babies", as my screenwriting professor phrased it. We all write lines and quips we just love. If it's not working in the piece, you have to cut it no matter how clever it is. The great news? You can file those witticisms away for use in future pieces.

That's all I've got pre coffee on a Monday morning.

Read aloud, as other people have mentioned. Also, if you have time, leave it alone, work on something else then come back to it.
Be aware f words or phrases that you use a lot, like 'just' for example.

And yes, the kill your darlings/babies thing is very important and probably one of the hardest things to learn as any kind of writer.

Some great advice here, I'll add a little something I learned from Gary Halbert:

People overuse "that"... go through, find "that's", delete them, and rephrase the sentence. It flows better.

And eliminate it and they as much as possible, too.

The key is to never, ever, ever, ever think it's done.

Because it's not.

You can always polish copy a little more... and a little more... and a little more.

You have to develop an almost Buddhist-like mentality: Practicing the art of unattachment.

Or as Angie's screenwriting professor said...

"Kill your babies."

I'm amazed at how I can walk away from something - feeling like it's ready to get tested, print it out (as Chris said,) read it out loud (in my pitch man's voice)... and find all kinds of ways I can delete or clean up sentences.

That headline I thought was gold? Yup, just made it better. What about making the promise right in the beginning a little stronger or weaving the hook throughout the copy just a little more to create better continuity.

And yeah...

Simple things like deleting 60% of your "that's" can make a HUGE difference.

Remember Arfa who used to post here? She mentioned reading the copy backwards. Try it. You can spot missing words and embarrassing little mistakes easier. And it does something for the brain. No idea what. But I always feel smarter.

Oh yeah...

Make sure the tonality is consistent. And the voice... is the voice of the person speaking. That almost always leads to some interesting edits and additions.

Marcello Franceso

Editors, in the formal sense, should worry about grammar, punctuation, usage and style concerns (AP style vs. Chicago style vs. ???). These concepts are usually learned in a formal university setting. I'm sure there are online resources where you can have good editing habits "drilled into you," but you gotta approach the task like you're going to college. No shortcuts here.

Tim Ferriss did a great interview with Neil Strauss.

The Tim Ferriss Podcast, Ep 15: Neil Strauss, Author of The Game | The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss

In it, he reveals his 5-phase editing process.

No, Neil isn't a copywriter. But his work is damn compelling, nonetheless.

- Rick Duris

PS: Did you know he writes to appease his haters? Yep, that's one of the phases.

Good stuff from Ray here:


Lots of icons on that desktop.

Another quote similar to the one you were thinking about is David Ogilvy where he wrote that he was a lousy copywriter, but a good editor.

This is a letter (it has been mentioned here before) where he describes his writing process:

Letters of Note: I am a lousy copywriter

Marvin

Also read Stephen King's On Writing.

Another tip...

Look at your copy as a whole. If it is filled with underlining, bolding and italicizing then you may be using them as a crutch.

While you wouldn't want to eliminate them completely, too much of it might mean you need to rework a lot of your copy.

I.C.O.B.A.

Have SOMEONE ELSE (preferably someone who reads at a 5th grade level) read your letter out loud and listen for anything that’s….

1. Irrelevant:

This means anything which isn’t vital to supporting your primary selling angle (we’ll talk about selling angles in the section on structure).

2. Confusing:

Listen for where your “test reader” stumbles or furrow their brow while reading. Remove or revise those parts.

3. Oversold:

Listen for anything that has that needy “Please believe me” tone or which beats a selling point to death with too much explanation, pleading or persuading. Then, trim the fat.

4. Boring:

Have someone listen to your letter being read. Preferably someone with a short attention span and who isn’t emotionally involved. Have them hold up their finger every time they feel themselves tuning out. Remove those parts.

5. Awkward:

Ever been at the park, at a bar or walking in a popular part of town and that creepy or socially awkward person just starts talking to you? Listen for the parts where your sales letter sounds like that. Then, trim the fat.

For best results, put your letter away for a few days between the writing stage and the editing stage. When you come back, it will be easier to trim the fat because you won’t be as emotionally attached.

If you find it hard to let go of stuff, keep a swipe file to store it in. This way, you can pull out the trimmed body parts later and turn them into blog posts. In most cases, you’ll come back to them and realize that they weren’t as precious as you thought they were.

Hey,

I found this article that I thought would be very helpful to you. It talks about 15 copy editing tips that can really make your content much more effective.

Hope this was helpful!

-Josh

Usually the last paragraphs of a section can be dismissed. I look for the 80/20 rule... always looking what to remove without losing the point. I learned this from Joe Vitale.

I can't recommend enough his book "Hypnotic Copywriting" in which he has a full checklist to optimize your sales letter and remove junk.

Good thread, gang.

But I wonder what's happening to us...

No bickering, arguments or 3,000 word treatises - who are you people?

75 percent of writing is editing. I always try to get concepts down first, then revise, revise, revise.

Hi there, get disconnected (in time and space) between the writing and the editing, edit what you wrote few hours, few days later and if possible do it somewhere else, you are connected to your piece of writing, you love your lines, you instinctively won't be "severe" with your lines the moment you made them, you'll also be older, smarter and wiser few days later

The Niche Man,

Copyediting is indeed a tough job after all. But in my own experience, the following process makes it more enjoyable and easy to deal with.

1. Read the entire article firt so you can draw a big picture. if possible reread. For copyediting proper,
a. Make sentences shorter and easier
b. Cut out unnecessary words.
c. get rid of deep wood.
d. Make an article as if its a talking person.
e. Make sure the sentences make sense.
f. Make sure to be consistent.
g. Simplify

2. Reread for polishing.
3. Have it scanned by others.

Tips: analyze the voice of an article, it affects how a reader will view/ understand the concept! And be yourself!

Hope this help.

Hello,

I think a good method it to read through good copy a few times and then try to put it into your own words without looking at the copy. This way your are learning what you read without editing line by line etc.

Hope this helps

Same here Bill, I read it for a few or maybe plenty of times (if the topic is something I am not familliar with) and then I when I got the idea I will start writing about it. After that, re-read again a few more times and then revise if necessary..

Good editors also notice details, like the fact that thread is 8+ months old.