Remembering to Edit

Do you ever dash off emails, or even blogs, or newsletters and hit “send” before editing? The recommendation for a letter, blog, newsletter, or book, is to put it aside for a day or two and then go back and re-read what you’ve written. Chances are you’ll want to make some changes.

That human brain is a funny thing; after a while, it stops showing you what is actually on the page! Instead, you see what you intended to write. By coming back to it after your brain has cleared up a bit, you regain that fresh (sort of) perspective.

A good way to tell if what you’ve written is free from mistakes and flows well is to read it out loud. You may notice typos, things that could be improved, and possible things that are missing.

If you have attention deficit disorder, like me, you may write that first draft really quickly and just send it off. That’s what I do. But I send it to my editor. Thank you to Lorrie Nicoles.