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“Well, that’s interesting,” he’d say. “Tell you what: write something up about that, say, 6 inches.”
It always amazed me how he’d sort out the day’s garbage from its gold so quickly. How’d he do it? Instinct? Experience?
When writing for the web, you have to call upon that je ne sais quoi with every post. You have to be your own editor.
Since I’m in no way an expert (see last post), I combed through the best resources I could find for advice on how to be your own editor.
Get to the point.
The first thing an editor looks for in a manuscript is its purpose, says Writersworld.com. Hook your reader with a catchy intro and then land them with a solid lede. Tell your reader why they should keep reading and then keep them reading with relevant material.
Ask “What kind of reading will my target audience be doing?”
The Society of Technical Communication (pdf) urges editors to consider the function of the communication—is it meant to inform, educate, entertain, or persuade—and the reading strategies used to complete this function. If your reader wants to quickly learn something, an article or blog post with an overview, lists, and summary could help.
Think in Subheads
An editor once told me that subheads enable a reader to put an article down and come back to it a week later without feeling lost. The concept is a bit different on the Internet. Here, subheads enable the writer to organize thoughts in a cohesive manner and let the reader skim the article and read the sections they’re looking for quickly. Be careful, though, to follow the next bit of advice.
Get Rid of Clutter
Sometimes all your notes organize into three neat and tidy categories. Sometimes they don’t. Then you have three choices: scrap the material, post it elsewhere, or shove your notes under the rug and hope no one notices the ever-growing bulge. (OK, I made that last one up.) Seriously though, if it feels like you’re stretching when you’re writing, etc. then it will feel stretched to your readers.
Keep it Tight
You thought you were done once you cleaned up all that clutter, huh? Nope. Not even close. Embrace your inner copy editor here. Editors look out for redundant quotes, phrases, and words. Lately, they’ve been rallying against “ATM machines” and “future plans.” Eliminate those phrases! My favorite English professor told me not to be afraid to “Kill your babies.” Brutal, I know. Practical. Yes. Don’t fall in love with your copy. It can only end in paper-cuts.
Make heads and links clear.
How’d you get here? If you’re lucky, you followed a link about being your own editor. If you’re not, someone has created a new nasty form of rickrolling for journalists.
Get to the point.
The first thing an editor looks for in a manuscript is its purpose, says Writersworld.com. Hook your reader with a catchy intro and then land them with a solid lede. Tell your reader why they should keep reading and then keep them reading with relevant material.
Ask “What kind of reading will my target audience be doing?”
The Society of Technical Communication (pdf) urges editors to consider the function of the communication—is it meant to inform, educate, entertain, or persuade—and the reading strategies used to complete this function. If your reader wants to quickly learn something, an article or blog post with an overview, lists, and summary could help.
Think in Subheads
An editor once told me that subheads enable a reader to put an article down and come back to it a week later without feeling lost. The concept is a bit different on the Internet. Here, subheads enable the writer to organize thoughts in a cohesive manner and let the reader skim the article and read the sections they’re looking for quickly. Be careful, though, to follow the next bit of advice.
Get Rid of Clutter
Sometimes all your notes organize into three neat and tidy categories. Sometimes they don’t. Then you have three choices: scrap the material, post it elsewhere, or shove your notes under the rug and hope no one notices the ever-growing bulge. (OK, I made that last one up.) Seriously though, if it feels like you’re stretching when you’re writing, etc. then it will feel stretched to your readers.
Keep it Tight
You thought you were done once you cleaned up all that clutter, huh? Nope. Not even close. Embrace your inner copy editor here. Editors look out for redundant quotes, phrases, and words. Lately, they’ve been rallying against “ATM machines” and “future plans.” Eliminate those phrases! My favorite English professor told me not to be afraid to “Kill your babies.” Brutal, I know. Practical. Yes. Don’t fall in love with your copy. It can only end in paper-cuts.
Make heads and links clear.
How’d you get here? If you’re lucky, you followed a link about being your own editor. If you’re not, someone has created a new nasty form of rickrolling for journalists.
Think the same way for your readers. You want them to find information they want to find. Maybe they’ll hang around for awhile then, leave some comments if you’re lucky.
Ensure that its “All for One and One for All.”
Here’s the one that stumps even experienced editors. On the web, not everyone will stick around for the whole party. Make every page count toward the whole, but make sure each page can stand on its own.
Great article- I found it both informative and useful. Your line about thinking in subheads makes a lot of sense.
ReplyDeleteKristen - I used to work for a weekly newspaper and had my share of school board, sewer planning, and mobile home association meetings. But I also had more time to edit my work and/or have my editor sift through it. I truly admire daily reporters because the story has to be written well and it often has to be written NOW! And, unlike copy on the internet, it can't be changed or fixed (although some of my mistakes in print were fixed on the newspaper's website.)
ReplyDeleteThe part about the ATM Machine made me chuckle. . .I had an editing class right here at Rosemont where we had to edit a piece that mentioned one. I left in the part about the ATM Machine which, I was later told, should have been eliminated.
I like when I read/watch something for one purpose but end up learning something new and interesting, yet unintended, as a bonus. I now know what rickrolling is. Thanks! (Since you're a journalist, you did the proper thing by linking to the definition. But, it may have been funnier to link to the video and let the reader figure it out on her own.)
ReplyDeleteThis is all great advice, well organized with a touch of wit to keep us going. The trick is to follow the advice in the piece and I think you've done it. As to the precious babies, I love the leap to paper cuts.
ReplyDeleteEveryone: Thanks for your kind and encouraging comments about my researched advice. As I said in the blog, I need a lot of help in this area too. If anyone has any more sage advice out there (or even advice you're not sure is 'sage'), please pass it along! I'd love to hear it.
ReplyDeleteI was a journalism/writing minor and I remember being taught about creating catchy ledes. This instruction quickly met up against the reality of my first-- and only-- real writing gig, an internship at the Torrington Citizen-Register. Suddenly I found myself facing 45 minute deadlines about meetings of the town planning and zoning committee. Want to read a leaden lede, you should have seen the crap I wrote about the the controversies about maximum square inches of signage in Torrington, CT.
ReplyDeleteRob: Those 45 minute deadlines are killer, aren't they? They can sap the creative juices right out of you. (Well, what's left after you get through meetings about square inches of signage.) Some news veterans can create a beautiful lede out of any meeting, but sometimes I think the best thing to do is just to say the main idea concisely and move on. Nobody's won a Pulitzer Prize off of planning meeting notes, right?
ReplyDelete"Don’t fall in love with your copy. It can only end in paper-cuts." Unless you're writing for the web, ha ha!
ReplyDeleteLove the advice. Thanks for the post!