September 9, 2008 by Lillie
I’ve recently joined a great new editing blog: The Blood-Red Pencil. A dozen professional editors ”take the mystery out of of book manuscript revision.” My first post on the blog, Ten Tips for Self-Editing, appeared today. I encourage you to subscribe so you don’t miss any of the great editing advice.
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Lillie, I love the title of the site! I’ll pop over and read. Congratulations and thanks for sharing with us!
Karen Swims last blog post..This Side Up
Hi Lillie, the self-editing article was excellent. I could not figure out how to post a comment there even after logging into Blogger – help! I advise people to go through the self-editing process before they hand it over to a professional to edit. Some are so anxious to write and then turn it over but that’s only part of the work. I am bookmarking the post so that I can share it with others. Great advice!
Karen Swims last blog post..This Side Up
Karen,
I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.
Thanks, Karen. It surprises me how many people think they’ve finished writing when they’ve finished the first draft. In fact, there’s a lot more work left to do.
To post a comment on The Blood-Red Pencil, click the number of comments in the white box below the post. Every post has a box under it that says “posted by” and includes the comment link and the tags for the post. The white box may give the impression that it’s the headline for the next post. You don’t have to jump through any hoops to comment once you find the link.
I think the best editing strategy is to write more often and read more often. Practice makes perfect. Perfect practice for that matter.
I saw your article first, then came to your web. Good article. I plan to read your archives and future posts.
Chers last blog post..Movie making in them olden days!
Hi Lillie,
Thanks for the editing tips! I have a great story about my husband and his editing experience. He works for an ad agency as an editor/copywriter. He got a manuscript in for a tagline for this new product. Instead of “give us a call anytime” it said give us a calk anytime”
I thought it was pretty hilarious. So you always need to be careful!
Hi Lillie, I checked out your ten tips on the Blood-Red Pencil. These are great. One of the things I have to watch for is using cliches. They want to roll out of my mouth and onto the paper. That is one area I watch in my writing.
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That’s funny—I’m sure he sees lots of stuff like this. People rely on spell-check, which won’t catch a wrong word spelled correctly.
Robyn,
It’s great that you recognize what you need to watch for. We all have certain writing problems that we tend to repeat. Becoming aware of them and consciously working on them improves what we’re writing and may also help us avoid those problems in the future—or at least reduce the frequency.
Cher,
I’m glad you found my blog through the article. Thanks for commenting. I hope you find lots in the archives you enjoy and keep coming back.
You are right—the more we read and the more the write, the better we write.
Lillie,
Ah, so many non-fond memories of that red editing pencil. There is a HUGE difference from correcting, revising, fixing typos and truly editing.
You have given outstanding advice. Perfect!
Rita
Rita,
So many writers don’t realize how much work there is to do after the book is finished. Most writers I know write “pure green dreck,” as one of my writing teachers called it, on the first draft. Then the real work begins to turn that dreck into something worth reading.
Thanks for the links Lillie. That’s a very helpful site for writers and those of us that aren’t actually writers but have occasion to write. I’ve been enjoying it more since I subscribed to your site.
All of the tips in your post were spot on. I think the first one is probably one of the most abused, because many people edit and write at the same time, I know I catch myself doing it anyway.
I think putting the document aside is another great one and can really be applied to almost all activities. Many times when programming, I will run into a problem that I can’t figure out right away. Usually if I leave it alone for awhile, I can figure the problem out when I come back to it.
A lot of writers want their work to be perfect when it’s finished … but that’s not going to happen.
It’s more efficient to get the first draft written, then work on improving it.
Putting something aside for awhile does work for a lot of different things. I’ve always heard the expression—”sleep on it,” and that’s good advice.
Hi Lillie – thanks for the great advice. It looks like an interesting site. I love the name and design.
WoW, this is a really well written and easy to follow step by step editing blog post, and I will recommend to my friends, which some of them love to do the editing stuffs, even thought they haven’t even finished the post!
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Sounds like a lot of fun. Writing is a great hobby and is very healthy.
Cath,
I think it will turn out to be very interesting. The goal is to have 50 professional editors posting. I’m sure we’ll all learn some things, and I’m also sure we probably all won’t agree. But I’m looking forward to see how it goes.
Wilson,
Thanks! We all need to edit, but as I said in the post, it’s usually best to finish writing first!
Writing can be a great hobby, but for me and for the others at The Blood-Red Pencil it is also the way we make our living.
That seems like a pretty prestigious blog. The name is quite catchy as well. Blood-red pencil… I wonder who came up with that.
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Justin,
The blog was already set up and a couple of articles posted when I was invited to join. I’m sure one of the founding members came up with the great name.
interesting site. hadn’t heard of the oracle of bacon until now.
and i do like the name as well. as editing can be rather bloody work, both for the editor and the writer.
Kouji,
Writers often think their manuscripts have been bleeding when they see pages filled with bright red editing marks.
indeed. and every bright red line slashed across your text feels like it’s been cut across your chest. and yet it’s with editing that we improve. so hopefully the writer comes out bloodied but unbowed.
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kouji,
We writers often find it hard to realize that our work isn’t as good as it could be, but editing and rewriting can make it the best. It’s a mark of a good writer to accept constructive criticism but also to reject criticism that doesn’t improve the writing. Knowing the difference takes practice, confidence, and skill.
Great to broaden our horizons. I’d stay away from blogger though. Maybe you can recommend to blog on another platform? Maybe a wordpress Multi-User blog that’s hosted?
Let me know if you need any help
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Tertius,
I didn’t have any say in the platform—that was decided by the original founders before I was invited to join. I have been talking up WordPress and pointing out some of Blogger’s shortcomings … but haven’t made inroads yet.
Sounds like a great project. Going to pop over now to read your post.
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Amy,
I’ve been impressed with the quality and variety of posts. Although there is a fair amount of emphasis on fiction, many of the posts apply to any kind of writing.
I’m looking forward to reading this! Thank you! (It looks wonderful, and it’ll be very helpful for organizing some ideas for a presentation on editing I’m giving in a couple months at the local writer’s festival. Many of the writers around here don’t understand why they should love editors (at least, in theory).
Penny,
Good luck with your presentation. Are you an editor or a writer talking about editors?
A lot of writers don’t appreciate editors, but we are essential.
The more I read, the more I notice an improvement in my writing and in my vocabulary. The trick is to ensure you don’t read so much that there’s no time to write!
John Taylors last blog post..Seperating Emotion From Business
Great observation, John. Some of the best advice I’ve heard for writers is this: Read, read, read! Write, write, write!
I liked your post on the editing site. It’s good basic editing advice. We bloggers need to use your suggestions more.
Linda,
I’m glad you liked the post. I try to keep things simple.
Great article!
A lot of my major problems stem from lack of self editing, I do make quite afew common mistakes and often make myself lokoa little foolish when I write things on my own website (I always edit for clients but rarely for myself!)
I have just started writing up tips on my blog which you might find interesting, I am going through problems and experiences I am finding as I attempt to become a fulltime freelance writer!
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Self-editng is important for freelance writers because potential clients judge us by what they see on our Web sites and blogs. They likely assume that if there are mistakes in our work, there will be mistakes in the work we do for them. Of course, even with the best self-editing, occasional mistakes do slip through, but the fewer errors the better.
As a writer, creating a draft is really important because it’s how you incorporate your ideas and views about a specific subject. While asking someone else that understands your piece is a good idea.
freelance writing,
Getting input from someone else is an excellent part of the editing process.
“Remember that writing comes before editing.” Such great advice! I find that many people are so caught up in the results of their work that they often neglect the process. Granted, this isn’t a new insight, but it’s one that persists, especially with students and even in the workplace. I believe the best way to combat this problem is to have a road map for writing. When I get sidetracked writing a particular blog posting, I’ll remember that I need to create a road map, or outline, and then the process becomes clear and worthwhile. Thanks again for the great tip.
Matt,
I like the idea of a road map. So many people hate the idea of an outline, but they would welcome the idea of a road map.
Bonnie,
I’m glad you’re enjoying writing more and hope you find Blood-Red Pencil very helpful.