My 3-Step Editing Process to Sculpt Irresistible Articles
Take your articles from good to great
Hello dear writer,
Welcome to a brand new issue of #TheWriteWay — a weekly newsletter to help you upscale your writing, build accountability, and inch closer to your goals. Thank you so much for being a part of this incredible community.
We can’t wait to support you as you scale amazing heights and make your dreams come true.
Today’s issue is brought to you by Neeramitra Reddy. In this issue, we’ll cover the nuances of editing → hands-down the most crucial part of the writing process.
The biggest trap most aspiring writers fall prey to is editing while writing.
Rethinking every word. Rewriting every word. Mulling in silent frustration. Scrapping the entire draft. Giving it another jab. Tearing out clumps of your hair. Slam-shutting the laptop.
Even if you persevere, the result would be a sub-par semi-complete article you’re semi-ashamed semi-relieved of.
Instead, write first and edit later. With your internet blocker switched on and spell-checkers turned off, plow till the end.
The first draft will be (and is supposed to be) sh*t.
Completing it is all that matters. Let that be the north stone when writing. Don’t fret over the quality and let the editing process sculpt it up.
While my 3-step editing process is for long-form articles, you can apply the same principles to ebooks, brief articles, threads, etc.
Step 1: Whip Your Article Into Rough Shape
The first draft isn’t a religious artifact you ship with barely any scratches.
It’s a gooey blob of raw metal you’re going to heat, forge, hammer, and reforge into shape — so don’t get attached to it!
In the first leg of editing, here’s what I usually do:
Rearrange paragraphs and delete redundant ones. Try to pull your best paragraphs to the top and bottom of your articles. The good ones? Put them in the middle. Ruthlessly cut out the weak and redundant ones.
Finalize the headline. Now that your first draft is done, get creative with your headline. Play around with at least 5 to 10 variations before finalizing one. Headline analyzers like AMI’s and Headline Studio’s will help a ton.
Rewrite the section headers. Your section headers should be like mini-titles — seductive promises that lure your readers into each section. Not boring labels.
Finalize the picture. Open Unsplash, Pexels, or Pixabay. Search with a certain term and rapidly scroll until an image catches your eye → If it pulls your eye, it will pull your readers’ as well.
Fill up TKs. TK’s a placeholder widely used for any “to-be-dones”. When you’re blitzing in flow, you don’t want to stop to put in quotes, hyperlink research, or finish certain hard paragraphs. Leave TKs and get back to finish them.