It’s ridiculously easy to do; you thought you did a good, quick sweeping of your latest post, and once it went live, realized (or someone pointed out to you) that there was some kind of formatting, typo, or general error in the feature – oops! A ton of us self-edit our posts, or worse- rely on spell check to do the job, and without having a second set of eyes to take a gander, errors can easily occur. I get so frustrated with myself when I miss something, be it major or minor, but luckily there are some extra steps that can be taken to cut down on the mistakes and learn how to be a better copy editor to your own writing.
Here are some recommendations from the blogging community on making sure everything is looking and reading just perfect, prior to publication.
Ashley Robison of {Putting the} Ash in Fashion says:
“I’m always inclined to run away from a blog fast when I see REALLY BAD grammar or spelling. I love writing, but don’t always love editing my work. In a pinch, I try to at least follow these few guidelines for myself;”
- Master a few basic spelling and definition differences: your vs. you’re, their vs. there vs. they’re, its vs. it’s. We ALL occasionally make these mistakes– but when you make them repeatedly, you’re losing your credibility as a writer.
- Make sure your tenses are consistent. If you’re writing a post in present voice, stick to it. If you’re writing in the past, stay there.
- When in doubt, trust your intuition over spell check. There have been many times it suggests a grammar or spelling change that just didn’t sit right with me. So I refer to someone else: a dictionary, a trusted friend, or a great writing handbook.
Amy Chandra of Midtown Girl shares:
“I preview my posts before hitting the publish button (I use WordPress as my blogging platform). I occasionally add a ‘totes’ or an ‘adorbs’ in my posts for a lighthearted touch, but I always double check to make sure my grammar is correct. One of my go-to sites for proper use of the English language is Grammar Girl’s “Quick & Dirty Tips,” which explains common errors in English grammar. It’s like having an extra set of editing eyes at your fingertips.”
Rachel Adler of Beauty High advises:
“Since most people who work online have to self-edit, the best advice I can give is to slow down and take a minute to read over your post. You can’t always rely on spell check to catch your errors, and in this world of trying to be the first to publish, most of the time taking a deep breath after you write and doing a nice skim of your post can save you from making a silly mistake.”
What other tips would you recommend in improving self-editing skills?
About the Author:
Julia DiNardo blog at Fashion Pulse Daily.
I’m trying to make sure my english is the best it can be so thank you, this post was very helpful.
http://jaey-jaey.blogspot.co.uk/