My Editing Technique

Just recently I have been playing around with editing techniques. I had been told that to be a decent writer you have to be a pretty good editor, and with the recent emphasis on my short story collection, editing has been my main focus.

Another good tidbit I had been given awhile back was that you should always read your work out loud which I am a major advocate of, but while doing so I began to wonder how editing would work when listening to yourself. You are listening to yourself as you’re reading it out loud, but how about as a mock audiobook or recorded speech? I always find myself picking up on things better when I listen to them in a sort of podcast format. Plus, when reading straight off the page (or the screen), I’m still focusing heavily on the words in front of me and not on how they sound. So, I have developed my own kind of editing process which I’d like to share today.

 First, a minor disclaimer: I am no professional editor. This may work for you, but there’s also a good chance it may not. Just find the technique that works best for you and run with it. I have found this is the best technique for me because of the particular style I want to achieve. Regardless, here is my process:

DO YOUR REGULAR READING FIRST

To catch all of my initial mistakes or minor word slips, I read straight off the page like I normally would. I change any mistake immediately and once it’s been fixed, I continue on with my regular reading. Sometimes I will do this a couple times just to ensure it reads off the page better, but one time is usually sufficient.

READ THE NEW DOCUMENT AGAIN, THIS TIME WHILE RECORDING

Now, depending on your own preference, you can use special audio recording equipment or the plain-Jane audio equipment that came with your computer. I use my TekNMotion headphones. They’re cheap and of decent quality. Plus, they’re great for online gaming or vlogging, which is the initial reason I got them. Regardless, I reread the draft. I make sure to pause between paragraphs. This helps with my editing later on. DO NOT EDIT DURING THIS STAGE. Even if I find something during the read through, I leave it alone. I fix it in the next step. I don’t add in anything either, even if I think something would sound better. I just make a small reminder and keep on with the recording.

LISTEN TO THE RECORDING WITH YOUR DOCUMENT IN-HAND (OR ON-SCREEN)

When I listen to my recording, I mark down changes for each individual paragraph, which I indicate by a somewhat lengthy pause. At that point, I edit anything I find that sounds strange or could be substituted. If I made a note during the recording, I edit it in. Once I do an initial change, I DO NOT REREAD THE PARAGRAPH. I accept my changes and keep going. I repeat the process with each paragraph until I have done all of my piece.

REPEAT

Once I have done my first set of revisions, I re-record myself reading the new draft with all of my new edits. Once again, I avoid making changes, but make little reminders instead. Then, I re-listen to it and edit as I go. The process can be repeated as many times as necessary until I am pleased with the outcome.

This process is very beneficial when learning how to make sentences and paragraphs flow together. If you feel like you have re-oriented yourself to read the next sentence or the next paragraph, you may need to work on your transitions. This can also help with developing a better speaking voice. On the plus side, it’s always really cool to hear your work being read out loud like it’s an audiobook. Give it a try and let me know how it worked for you!

Thanks for reading!

 

-Lissy