Why Is Self-Editing So Important?
Good morning all you beautiful people,
I am back! Yet again. With a really valuable post. To me this seems obvious, but not necessarily to everyone else. I took this as a given my whole life, but some people haven’t been taught this. So I’ll explain.
Self-editing is important for a variety of reasons. But some are much more important, much more prominent than others.
Reasons you MUST self-edit:
you appear much more professional - you look like you know what you’re doing and recognize that you are not perfect and that your writing isn’t perfect. That you know how to improve yourself and are striving to do just that.
your writing appears more professional - people will actually be able to get through a chunk of your writing without feeling like their time has been stolen from them or wasted on something not worth reading.
your skills will improve - doing a self-edit will help you learn not just the general mistakes you tend to make, but also how to fix them and catch them on your own before anyone gets to see your writing. Meaning, the next time you self-edit your writing, or even the next time you draft a project, your writing will be better overall, less typos, fewer grammar issues, and fewer story problems.
Now, this may seem harsh to you. The reason it isn’t is because no one is perfect and not even Steven King or Margaret Atwood can write a perfect first draft without going over it at least once. So if you’re new to the game, you need this edit to make your writing look professional enough, be easy enough to read and decipher in order to get any amount of decent feedback for the overall story you are trying to tell.
You want to show people that you know how imperfect you and your writing are, but that you want it to be better and you want help to get there and are willing to work with people who want to help improve your writing as a whole.
Because, let’s face it, no one wants to work with a writer/author who thinks everything they write is perfect and has no flaws. Because no matter how much constructiveness is in the criticism you give them, the author won’t change their mind. Not even to make the story better.
And improving your writing skills is never a bad thing when it comes to your writing and your writing career. Keep improving! Your writing will shine for it.
Well, thank you for sticking around. I hope this helped anyone or any new writers. We’re cheering for you, I promise. And the rest of us want to help. So, this is a start.
Happy reading and writing! See you next time.
Celine Rose Marie
