Editing your own work: The key to effectively communicating your message

Once the writing is finished, you're only halfway done with a project. Editing is critical for any piece of writing, as it can make the difference between clear and concise writing and writing that misses the mark. Knowing how to effectively and efficiently edit is a skill learnt through repetition, so the more practice you have, the better you’ll get. 

Here are a few tips you may find helpful:

Come back with a fresh mind. When editing your own work, you need to be able to see it from an unbiased perspective, almost as if you’ve never seen it before. The best way to do this is to walk away so that you return with a fresh perspective. Depending on your timeline, this might mean working on something else for 20 minutes or leaving it for a day or two. ​​This is founder Deborah Evans’ favourite trick, as it lets her approach every project from a fresh mindset.

Create your own process. It can be easy to get lost in the weeds of your own work. Everyone approaches the editing process differently — there is no right or wrong way — so do whatever works best for you. For our summer intern, Megan, her favourite approach was to edit the entire piece multiple times, with each pass having a different focus, such as grammar, punctuation, flow, or clarity. Another approach could be to do one or two detailed edits where you tackle every focus each pass. 

Get rid of the fluff. While time and thought went into every word you wrote, a good editor has to be harsh to produce the best final product. Sometimes words or whole sentences just don’t work, and that’s okay! Stay focused on your goal and remain unbiased to cut down your own work when it needs to be. That’s why at Luminate, we are committed to holding each other accountable while leaning on our editors for support with every piece we produce.

Be as clear as you can. Clarity is critical, especially when you don’t have much space to share a lot of information. To ensure you’re getting all the key points across, try looking at the text from the perspective of someone with little to no knowledge of the topic. Is it still clear? If so, great work! If not, give it another shot and then start the self-editing process over. Suzanne, one of our key writers, is a professional when it comes to clarity, as she works on several accounts, managing numerous projects while always hitting the mark!

Use sentence variety. It’s tempting to structure each sentence similarly but variety is your best friend. Using different sentence lengths and styles adds variety to your writing, makes it flow better, and keeps it interesting. So, if you notice that the first three paragraphs all start with the same sentence structure, it’s time to make some changes. At Luminate, our editor, Cara, is great at pointing out repetition and suggesting ways to switch things up.

Editing your own work ensures your writing is effectively communicating your message, meaning your audience will better connect with your content.

Check out our blog posts to see how Luminate edits our own material.