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3-2-1 Fridays: 3 tactics to improve your self-editing skills

3-2-1 Fridays: 3 tactics to improve your self-editing skills

30 Sep

Welcome to today’s issue of Efikó, a weekly newsletter by me, Dozie Anyaegbunam, focusing on all things content marketing and living your best life. THANK YOU for being here! I appreciate you!

Hey folks,

How’s your week been?

I am caught up in ‘end of Q3 metrics’ and building my Q4 OKRs. Plus, trying to keep up with Dodo and Ronan. So a tad frazzled.

But I guess that’s what we signed up for.

3 Things I Learned This Week About Self-Editing

i.

Yes, working with an editor is excellent. But you need to be able to self-edit your work.

While Grammarly is helpful, it isn’t perfect.

A good place to start when self-editing is your thesis.

Does your thesis match the search intent of the keyword you are targeting?
Does it allow you to share your perspective/angle on the topic, or are you just waffling into the wind?
Do your conclusions in each section and at the end of the article match or support your thesis?

It’s often so easy to get lost while writing. Use these questions as a forcing function to ensure your article brings home the bacon.

ii.

If you go back to most of your writing, you’ll discover specific errors appear repeatedly.

For example, I tend to use passive sentences a lot.

To catch these reoccurring errors, create a personal checklist. Google Docs should be fine. Print it out if you can.

And anytime you want to edit your work, bring out your checklist and work through those errors first.

I haven’t done this long enough. But I suspect the checklist will get smaller over time.

iii.

And if you love tools, then you’ll love the Literary Forensics diagnostic tool created by Jacqui Banaszynski. It helps you:

Identify your trademark errors and quirks
Tackle weaknesses in your writing
Improve on your strengths
Ensure clarity and accuracy when writing

2 Things I am Thinking About

i.

“Consistency is more important than intensity. Patience is more important than luck.” — Shane Parrish.

ii.

"He who does not enjoy solitude will not enjoy freedom." — Arthur Schopenhauer.

1 Book Recommendation

The Elements of Eloquence: Secrets of the Perfect Turn of Phrase by Mark Forsyth. Mark Forsyth put together a great read on the importance of style when writing/talking and how to do it consistently.