Editing

Transforming your work from “draft” to “done” can be daunting, and the process can differ depending on the needs of a project. Here are some strategies to consider when reviewing your text, regardless of context, when preparing your final edit.

As an editor or beta reader, when you highlight the best segments of a written work with your red pen, you give the author a map of the highlights of his/her work. As the author, there's a lot you can learn from this process.

When "Tidying Up" aired early in January 2019 on Netflix, hordes of fans clamored for more of Marie Kondo's animism when dealing with all their "stuff." Kondo peddles the concept of perfect control over your things instead of letting your things control you. Writers, we can take a page out of Kondo's book.

Publication-quality text is what agents, editors, and readers are looking for — and they can tell whether you have it in the first paragraph, or even the first sentence.

A self-edit should have you cutting what doesn't add to your written work. Strive for simple, effective construction of phrases to achieve a better final product.

This twist on editing can turn those red marks on the page into something a writer craves. Red pen praising only highlights the best of a writer's work.

Editing software can improve your creative writing, and since you're alerted to corrections and suggestions, you can also expect to learn a lot and grow as a writer.