My Editing Process
Last summer, I shared my writing process with you, i.e. how I write most weeks on Medium alongside full-time coaching, domestic goddess work, and raising two teenage sons. That article became one of my most read in 2023 — thank you for encouraging me!
Now, inspired by a delightful book I’m co-authoring with my colleague and friend, Justyna Bak, I’m sharing my self-editing process, the work behind the scenes just before I hit “publish.” I’ve curated this system and thought process over 35+ years of deadline driven writing, reporting, and editing for global publications with millions of readers and for corporations wanting journalistic branded content. (Truly, 40 years if we include my first writing job: Editor of my high school newspaper.)
My hope: To inspire delight in trimming back our words and use those learnings to improve and shorten our spoken word. To encourage deeper thought on what we want to say and how it helps our audience. (Even a reflective pause can halve the word count and with that, make you and your message more memorable.)
Block off time
Editing requires thinking deeply, laser focusing, and trusting/honoring that taking our brand and message to the next level requires rigor. Any communications expert I’ve partnered with knows to:
- block off their calendar to give the words the love they demand
- remove all distractions (window shopping, random phone calls, requests for your time, even your hunger, etc.)
- time your edit at your freshest, whether that’s the top of your day or after a run in the woods. And try coming back. Best edits happen in stages.
- avoid multi-tasking, i.e. doing the edit in a meeting. (You’ll miss too many things and it will take longer.)
Read through once for flow
On first read, go for flow, organization, and whether the message makes sense in terms of its order and what you choose to add. A few self-discerning questions as you read:
- Does my message make sense?
- Am I aligned with the topic I established in the title, photo, caption, and opening paragraph? (For global news audiences — or anything editors commissioned me to write — I had their instructions beside me for accountability.)
- What can wait for another article or message? (Meaning: Am I packing in too much here? Do I have a series vs. a one-off article? Or a memoir vs. an essay?)
- Where do I become tangential?
- Where do I over serve me and my own bias or curiosity vs. my reader(s)?
Remove repetition and redundancy
I’ve recently clocked 8,500 coaching conversations where I actively listen as people clear their worries, hopes, and ideas. As a reporter for decades, I probably hosted 1,500 news or spot reporting interviews. As a consultant and professor, I’ve also edited at least 5,000 essays or musings from leaders and students. I’ve noticed patterns. From this, I’m convinced we become most wordy by repeating key ideas, meaning saying the same thing over and over in different ways. I think I know why. Most of us fail to:
- trust that the first cast of the idea is good
- possess the substance or specifics we need to substantiate that idea
- have the time or skills to research or think more deeply about this idea nor feel confident or safe enough to state that.
- know how to take that isolated idea and bridge a conversation. I.E. We’re convinced in the moment we must keep going in light, frothy ways; when actually, stating the idea and lopping it to the audience as a question or statement for them to respond to could define your personal brand and career.
As you edit your own words, offer a “cruel” edit. Removing repetition and redundancy yields a sparser message at first; then, clarifying joy. You’ll see what’s missing and what to add because you’ve now created space for depth, which your audience will love. Triumph! This article offers more depth.
Add design techniques
On first draft, I add core design techniques like a 1–2 paragraph intro with a headline, photo, caption, and 3–5 subheads. I also add in bulleted lists with parallel construction in my grammar — a super satisfying way to trim back words. (I write on this process here.)
Even so, I still miss until the final edit additional ways to:
- add in more bullets, which can halve a paragraph, easy, because you’re removing the repeated phrases. (Hint: Any time you’ve a list of three, add in bullets.)
- drive readers to articles or resources I’ve written via hyperlink
- create more paragraphs or combine some. Sometimes two paragraphs can consolidate into one.
Eradicate superfluous words through style edits
I’ve written often on the wordiest style elements and take a Scrabble game approach to spot, modify, then truncate. An incomplete list of those elements includes:
- Passive vs. active voice. (The bill was passed by parliament vs. parliament passed the bill.)
- Camouflaged vs. real verbs. (I seek your cooperation on making this amendment to the proposal vs. please amend this proposal.)
- Weak vs. active verbs. (I want to be able to speak my mind vs. I want to speak my mind…)
- Extraneous words. Anything superfluous and stream-of-conscience must go.
Again, you’ll find in this woodland clearing ways to go deeper, think more, and/or take a new stance. (Inner thoughts can include: Ah! That’s what I really meant!) Resist the desire to add fluff back in. Take a stand one way or another on your topic. (And if that feels unsafe, qualify your ideas as your opinion, or your hunch, or a provocative question for your audience to ponder on.) My favorite metaphor to help curtail my own wordy impulses? If we can’t close the suitcase, we’ve too much within. Help readers take the trip with us. Trim back.
Debbi Gardiner McCullough coaches and trains foreign-born leaders to become more confident, concise, and mentally fit communicators. From Wisconsin, she owns and runs Hanging Rock Coaching and coaches worldwide with BetterUp.