It's a common misconception that professional writers get it right the first time.
In reality, nobody gets it right the first time-even people who have been writing professionally for decades.
Writing is a process, and your writing can always be made better.
Whether you're writing your own articles for an article marketing campaign or handling the copy yourself for a website or brochure, it's crucial to be able to edit your own writing.
Here are five tips for making sure yours is error-free.
Take a break before you edit.
When you first finish writing something, you're often too close to the copy to be able to spot your own errors.
Before you submit or publish a piece of writing, walk away from it.
An hour or two may be all the time you need, but some writers advocate putting their first draft away for at least a day.
When you come back, you'll be able to look at it with fresh eyes-and you might spot errors you never would have noticed before.
Read it aloud.
That long, complicated sentence might look fine on the page.
You might not notice that it sounds awkward until you read it aloud.
If you're in doubt about a passage, read it aloud to yourself.
Does the language flow well, or does it sound stilted? Reading your writing aloud can alert you to sections that may need more attention.
Never depend on Spell Check or Grammar Check.
The Spell Check program on your word processor is a useful tool for spotting spelling mistakes in a document, but it won't catch everything.
It can't tell the difference between the words "there" and "they're," for example-it can tell you if you spell them wrong, but it can't tell you if you're using one when you should be using the other.
Use Spell Check, but don't think it replaces your own editing.
Grammar Check programs are almost always wrong, and you're generally better off ignoring them.
Change the font.
If you don't have time to take a break before editing your document, change the font.
This can trick your brain into thinking you're looking at something entirely unfamiliar-and you may be able to spot errors this way you might have missed otherwise.
Ask a friend to help.
Sometimes you might think you're making sense on the page-but nobody else understands it.
In addition, a fresh pair of eyes may be able to spot grammatical or spelling errors you'd never have found.
Always ask a friend to look at your manuscript and give you feedback before sending it in or publishing it.
Editing and proofreading are crucial parts of the writing process.
No writer does his best work on the first try.
Follow these tips, and you'll be more likely to send in a well-written, error-free document every time.