As A Writer: What Are You Editing For?

In your first year of writing online, editing your work is a waste of time.

There are 5 major edits writers make:

- Grammar (“Is this correct?”)

- Format/structure (“Is this organized effectively?”)

- Style/voice (“Is how I’m communicating reflective of the emotional dimension I want to share with the reader?”)

- Pace (“How quickly am I revealing new information?”)

- Idea (“What am I actually trying to say here?”)

The problem with editing your work your first year of writing online is you don’t know yet what you’re editing for. You write something. You step away from it. You come back. What are you going to add, subtract, tweak, or re-write altogether?

More importantly, what’s driving your decisions?

So much of what I preach about the art & business of online writing is rooted in moving beyond assumptions and making decisions with data. And that first year of writing online, you have no data. All you have are assumptions. You “assume” you should edit out all your weird metaphors to sound more “professional.” You “assume” you should expand some sections and compress others. As a result, you over-edit based on what you “think” without having any real signal as to what’s driving those decisions in the first place.

The only question you should be asking yourself when you edit is, “Will this provide even more value to the reader?”

And the only way to know what is “valuable” is to learn what works well, and what doesn’t work well, by publishing.

Which is why I tell beginner writers, in your first year of writing online, editing your work is a waste of time.

You have no data, no compass, no North Star.

So what are you editing, for?

This is an Atomic Essay from the Ship 30 for 30 daily writing challenge.

?