Why is Editing Important in Writing? 5 Reasons Not to Skip it

Editing plays a significant role in creating a content  that is easy to read and understand and conveys a message to the audience. It transforms a rough draft into a master piece that effectively communicates message to target audience. By enhancing clarity, improving structure, ensuring consistency, eliminating errors, boosting engagement, and tailoring content to the audience, editing plays a pivotal role in upgrading content to its highest quality. This makes the final product not only informative and accurate but also enjoyable and compelling to read. 

Importance of Editing

C.J Cherryh an American writer once told “It is probably okay to write garbage as long you edit it brilliantly. ”Editing is the Fundamental element of writing, where we revise the content to avoid irrelevant and unnecessary content and grammar mistakes to make it clear to the readers. The importance of editing is that it directly influences the credibility of a writer, as we say even a ‘comma’ can change the entire matter of the content.

To become a good writer, one has to become a good reader. Only then, we can evaluate our work. Editing is not as easy as we talk but with the help of certain skills and digital tools, we can become better editors. Your work should be your trademark.

Nowadays, different types of writing-related jobs are high in demand such as Copywriting, Creative writing, Content Writing, Ghostwriting, Academic and SEO writing, and so on. So it is essential, to become a good editor along with a good writer to have your position in this competitive world.

In this blog, you will get to know Why Is Editing Important In Writing? and 5 Reasons Not to Skip It.

5 Reasons: Why Editing is significant in creating a masterpiece?

To have a better version of the document or article or any writing piece we require to do editing. Here are the 5 reasons that depict the Importance of editing.

1. Avoid Grammatical Errors

Grammar is the base of a Language that frames the entire article. Proper usage of Grammar is imperative in writing. If a document contains even more than 5 percentage of errors it will be very tough to read. If the grammar part is not perfectly done, the meaning of the entire document will be affected. Not only that but also readers will not understand what the author intends to convey the message.

Secondly, proper usage of punctuation, no spelling mistakes, commas, full stops, everything will help to read the document effortlessly. In addition, as we say even with the proper use of question marks, exclamations we can convey the same emotion of the writer to the reader. Moreover, careless grammatical errors and spelling mistakes can lead to negative reviews and rejection of work.

2. Modifies the Structure Of Writing

Another importance of editing is that structure of writing can be modified. It comprises Writing Style – Active and passive voice, Tone of Writing, and Breaking of Paragraphs all can be rechecked.

• Active and Passive voice – Active voice is used for nonscientific writing as it makes more clarity to sentences. It will be easy for readers to understand.

• Tone Of Writing – While in a hurry of ending up an article, sometimes the tone of the writing can be changed. For example, the Author’s  Voice or ‘Narrator’s Voice can be interchanged in a book or script writing. All these mistakes can be corrected in the editing part.

• Paragraph Breaking – Dividing the Paragraphs into simple sentences can be done in editing. Because Lengthy sentences will be difficult to understand. In addition to that, the Vocabulary of the paragraphs can also be reviewed.

3. Rechecking of Format 

The major part of Editing is rechecking the format of the entire matter. Font, Paragraph style, Spacing, Bullets, and Numbering everything can be revised once more.

• Font – The usage of font mainly comes under digital writing. At present days majority of people shifted to digital writing and reading. So the practice of using a suitable font style and font size is essential. Here comes the importance of editing where we can recheck whether the font used is readable to the audience.

• Paragraph Style – The entire writing should be classified as Paragraphs with proper Headings and Subheadings. It will be more convenient for the readers to read the subject. Missing Headings and subheadings can be given at the editing stage.

• Bullets and Numbering – Listing of content by providing bullets and numbering will highlight certain matters and it will help those readers who are running out of time. Listicles will be easier to read within a short time.

4. Editing Improves the Writing

The importance of Editing is that the Modification of the writing at this part will naturally enhance your work in all aspects. Any additional information that we forgot to mention can be added. Such as,

• Citations, Recommended Reads, Mentioning other people or blogs, or any other information regarding the subject. Irrelevant or unwanted data can be deleted.

Another two important factors are,

• Plagiarism Check – Your work should be unique from others so a Plagiarism check is unavoidable. It will be easier to check in Digital Writing as there are digital tools but In manual writing, you should know the other’s work.

• Reviewing Word Count – For a book, the word count is not as limited as that of a blog or article. But any piece of writing should be within the word limit, otherwise, it may turn boring.

5. Better Final Product

While we are writing we will be unaware of the reader’s point of view. Once our work is completed, we can analyze our work, by coming out of the tag of a writer. Editing is a chore process that consumes a lot of time. Also, it is a difficult task to edit the phrases and to do changes to every line. But the importance of editing is that a lot of improvements can be made, by clearing out all the mistakes. Finally, a better version of your work will be the output.

Mastering the Art of Editing: A Step-by-Step Guide

Editing is the process of reviewing, revising, and refining content to improve its clarity, coherence, and overall quality. After editing the content gives a clear message to the audience. The author’s thoughts are simply delivered into words. It involves identifying and correcting errors, enhancing readability, and ensuring the content effectively communicates the message.

Editing Content includes:

1. Proofreading
   • Grammar and Spelling: Checking and correcting errors in grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
   • Consistency: Ensuring consistency in terminology, format, and styling.
2. Substantive Editing
   • Content Structure: Evaluating and restructuring content to ensure the flow of ideas.
   • Clarity and Precision: Reformation of sentences and paragraphs for better presentation and clear communication of words.
3. Copy Editing
   • Style and Tone: Ensuring the content’s style and tone are appropriate for the intended audience and purpose.
   • Fact-Checking: Verifying the accuracy of information, data, and references.
4. Developmental Editing
   • Big Picture: Assessing the overall content for effectiveness, coherence, and completeness.
   • Feedback: Incorporating feedback from others to improve the content’s depth and breadth.

 Role of Editing in Upgrading Content

1. Enhancing Clarity and Comprehension
   • Clear Communication: Ensures that the message is clear and easily understood by the target audience.
   • Simplifying Complex Ideas: Break down complex concepts into comprehensible parts.
2. Improving Content Structure and Flow
   • Logical Organization: Arrange content in a logical sequence that naturally guides the reader from one idea to the next.
   • Effective Transitions: Creates smooth transitions between sections and paragraphs, maintaining the reader’s engagement.
3. Consistency 
   • Uniform Tone: Maintains a consistent tone throughout the content, whether formal, casual, or professional.
   • Consistency: Consistency in styling, formatting, and flow of ideas together will make perfect content.
4. Eliminating Errors 
   • Error-Free Content: Ensure the revised content is error-free.
   • Conciseness: Removes redundant or unnecessary words, phrases, or sections to make the content more concise and impactful.
5. Enhancing Engagement and Readability
   • Engaging Language: Uses language that is engaging and captures the reader’s attention.
   • Improve readability: Organize content with headings, subheadings, bullet points, and appropriate paragraph lengths to enhance readability.
6. Tailoring Content to the Audience
   • Audience-Centric: Adapts the content to meet the needs, interests, and understanding level of the target audience.
   • Feedback Integration: Incorporates feedback to make the content more aligned and effective.

Major Content Editing Platforms: Produce High Quality Writing

1. Book Writing

Writing a Book is not a joke it needs more patience and knowledge to complete that task. An Author should be efficient and clear enough, about what exactly he wants to resonate with the readers. A slight grammatical error or wrong information can affect the review of a book and it will eventually affect its market value. Moreover in the case of Autobiographies life lessons are told, and a single mistake can cause damage to the entire life story told and the reputation of the person. So Editing has a great role in the publishing of a book.

2. Script Writing

Script Writing is mainly for Films, Dramas, or advertisements and it mainly focuses on a Larger Audience. So a Proper script without any flaws is vital for its success. That’s why the importance of editing is high in Scriptwriting when compared to other sectors. Editing of a script includes changes or improvements in a storyline, scenario, and characters by considering various opinions from others. Catchy Headlines with a  Good message to convey are imperative. All these can be reanalyzed and rechecked at the time of editing.

3. Blogs or Articles

Nowadays, the majority of people use social media as a platform to share their ideas and thoughts. Both Blogs and Articles are part of Digital Content Writing. The content will be seen by thousands of people within a fraction of a second as the viewership is so enormous. So most people like to publish their work digitally. 

Here comes the importance of editing, because if there is any misleading information or errors in your blog or article or any post it will circulate fast. Live Criticisms and Harsh comments are the drawbacks of social media when compared to any other platforms. So before posting any write up’s as digitally you should do good editing.

4. Newspapers and Magazines

Newspapers and magazines are the first forms of media. The news was written by Hand before the digital age. So a proper Editorial Board was already a part of the newspaper and magazines from the beginning. Editing a newspaper or a  magazine is very crucial. The arrangement of columns for each news, Spelling errors, and Usage of Language all should be thoroughly checked. Moreover, cross-checking important news and avoiding unwanted matters before publishing is the major parts of editing a Newspaper or Magazine.

5. Academic Writing

One of the crucial types of writing where there is a lot of research work is needed. Academic writing is in two forms Student writing and Expert Writing. But in both forms, expert knowledge about the subject is necessary. Academic writing can be in the form of Journals, Essays, Research works, and Books for study purposes. Before publishing any of these, thorough editing is encouraged as the information shared should be correct. Moreover, all the contents should be based on the revised editions of books. Academic editing includes verifying the data collected, Plagiarism checks, arranging the order of contents so on.

6. Technical Writing

Technical writing includes Instruction Manuals, Product Descriptions, White Papers, Case studies, and mainly any piece of technical information. The prime focus of editing Technical data is to check the accuracy of the information provided. To deliver the correct data, Diagrams, Graphs, and Charts all should be properly picturized. In addition, the language should be simple so that it meets the knowledge level of readers. Grammarly errors and writing tone are not at all a concern of Technical Editing.

7. Editing in Legal Matters

In recent times, jobs in Legal editing are considered prominent ones. Large Publishing Companies and Legal firms are highly in demand for Legal Editors. Legal editing includes the fact check of legal issues or concerns related to the magazines or publications of a Company. Moreover in Legal firms, before the submission of documents to the court all the grammatical errors and accuracy of the information gathered should be figured out. The importance of editing is pretty much high in legal firms when compared to others as inappropriate editing can push the company into Trouble.

Tools Used For Digital Editing

For Editing a Write-Up, digitally there are enough Digital Tools. Some of the recently used digital editing tools are,

1. Grammarly

Are you not that good in grammar and the scribbler in you still pursue writing? Here is the solution. Grammarly Keyboard is an app that will automatically help you to correct all those mistakes in writing. If you made Grammarly your Google Extension, it will naturally show up with Mistakes in Grammar and Punctuation, Spelling Errors, Wordy Sentences, Passive voice misuse, and even space issues. In addition to that, the app will also pop up its suggestions and reasons for incorrect sentences.

Not only that Grammarly will give you corrections but also a Grammarly score will be available to analyze your writing skills. Grammarly can be used on all social media platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, Email Writing so on. The free version of the app is available, but for advanced suggestions Premium can be chosen.

2. Small SEO Tools

Your Work should be unique and free of Plagiarism at any cost. There are several tools to check plagiarism, like Copyscape, Quetext, and Scribbr, but Small SEO Tools is the prominent one. The app is very user-friendly and can check about 1000 words at a time. , The uniqueness of your writing will be shown along with the percentage of plagiarism. 

Moreover, In Small SEO Tools any form of the document either in pdf, tex, or doc can be copied and checked. Moreover, an auto-writing option for rephrasing sentences and, related links to plagiarized content, are all the added advantages. For using the app Extra charges are not needed.

3. Hemingway Editor

The app mainly focuses on the phrasing of the sentences rather than grammatical mistakes. Hemingway identifies the complexity of the paragraphs and will gives feedback on that. The app pinpoints lengthy and complex sentences, corrections in passive voice, and adverbs, in different colors, so it will be easy to understand. Moreover, the online version of the app is free, but to use it offline you have to pay for it. The app is more good in editing Articles and Blogs

4. Ginger

Ginger is an editing tool almost similar to Grammarly, but not contain that many advanced features. This tool will be a good option if you are looking for a simple grammar, punctuation, and spelling check. Live suggestions on Facebook, What’s up, Twitter, and Email writing are available. In addition to these, The ability to transform the text into any other language is the major specialty of Ginger when compared to Grammarly. Having said that, the major drawback is there is no Plagiarism checker and only limited corrections are provided for free users.

5. Wordtune

Wordtune is a copyediting tool that helps to rewrite or rephrase a sentence. Sometimes we cannot pen down all our thoughts exactly into words. This tool will be really helpful in such situations. You just want to copy the text and paste it into Wordtune, the app will highlight better suggestions for modification. Other than this, the Right tone for writing can be chosen based on the readers for the write-up. A free version of Wordtune is available.

Apart from all these tools if you have an account in WordPress it will be more beneficial. SEO analysis and Readability can be properly checked in WordPress. The Usage of Transition words, Active and Passive Voice, and Wordy Sentences all can be figured out in Paid version Of WordPress. So it will help to edit easier.

How to do Self Editing

As we all are living in a digital world, everything is digitized, still, a group of people likes to write on paper, and love to read a book more than online. In that case, we have to do editing manually. Here are some important points to note while doing self-editing.

• Grammar Check – There are indeed a lot of digital tools for solving grammar issues, but for self-editing, one should improve their grammar skills. Grammar mistakes can ruin your entire writing, so have good hands-on grammar.

• Transition Words – The usage of transition words are imperative in any piece of writing, it creates a natural flow from one sentence to another. Some of the transition words are, Furthermore, In fact, However, In addition, Moreover, On the Other hand, Although, But, As a result, etc.

• Writing Style – Throughout the writing, you have to stick to one style, avoid complex sentences, and always use simple words that are easy to understand. 

• Active and Passive Voice – Active voice is where the subject of the sentence performs whereas in Passive voice objects or verbs get more importance. Active voice sentences are more clear and more precise.

• Spelling Mistakes and Word Count – Always have a look at the spelling and word count limit. If both exceed your beautiful piece of work can get into the trash.    

Tips to Become A Good Editor   

• Readout the Script again and again.

• Apply Digital Tools or Have an Exceptional talent in Self Editing.  

• Usage of Simple words, Transitions, and Active Voice.

• Stick to one style throughout the Script.  

We have discussed the importance of Editing, Tools to improve Editing, and Editing Skills, But apart from all these if your content is strong enough without any flaws, you need not work much on your editing. To have good content writing skills, it is always better to undergo a course. Henry Harvin provides one of the best Content Writing Courses. Here are some details.

Content Writing Course Of Henry Harvin

Henry Harvin’s Digital Content Writing Course ranked as one of the top 5 content writing courses in India today. Also, the institute is recognized by the American Association of EFL, UK Cert, and the Content writing Association Of India.

Here are the Key factors of the course curriculum of the Institute,

• Live Online Interactive Classrooms of 40 hours.

• Both Week and weekend Batches are available.

• Classes on  Creative Writing, Copywriting, SEO Writing, Email Writing, Medical Writing so on.

• Develop skills in Creating Websites, Logo Designing, Resume Building, and Canva Designing.

• Access to LMS System.

• Recorded Videos of all classes are available.

• 1-Year Gold Membership with Henry Harvin Academy.

• Certifications are provided after completing the Course and Internships.

• 8 weeks of Internship where participants will get a chance to publish 8 blogs on different topics on various websites.

• Placement Drives on each week.

So if you are really in search to join a content writing course, Henry Harvin will be a good option.

Conclusion

Editing is a part of writing. Editing the entire script is a tough job rather than writing a matter which is pretty much easy. But similar to paintings, as they are not completed before the final touch, without editing our writings are just pieces of notes. It makes our content perfect to publish. So editing is important.

Moreover, through the different stages of editing, improvisation of our work will happen and we will get a chance to analyze the work from a writer’s perspective. So Editing is essential for any sort of work.

Recommended Reads

• What is Content Editing? 9 Key Tasks Of A Content Editor
• 15 Top Content Editing Tools to become an Eminent Content Writer in 2022 [Updated]
• 20 Best Grammar Checker Tools: Ranked and Rated

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