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4 Steps to Great Freelance Writing Editing
Great freelance writing editing means knowing your craft. Your clients are depending on you to catch their mistakes.
Step 1: Learn the rules
First, understand the rules of great editing by getting a style guide. Every library has a copy in its Reference section, and at least one more for general circulation. Amazon.com sells copies of Strunk & White’s The Elements of Style for as low as $7.95. Even cheaper when you purchase from the used section of Amazon.
Now, read your style guide completely. Yes—read it like you would read a novel! Most writers don't do this. Instead, they only refer to it every once in a while. This is the key to becoming a great freelance writing editing professional.
Step 2: Learn to Read
When dealing with someone else’s work, reading isn’t the problem. If they’ve mixed up a few words or left some out, you’ll catch the error because the troublesome sentence won’t make sense.
It isn't as easy when you read your own work. Your mind already knows what thoughts you’re trying to convey and will easily “fill in the blanks”. Your prose always seems to look perfect with no changes required! Don’t fall for this trap. After you’ve written your first draft, step away from it! Relax, or work on something else, but do not look at the draft again for at least 30 minutes.
After you return to your draft, read it from top to bottom—out loud if necessary. This will expose most of those errors your mind was happily “glossing over” earlier. To find the remaining errors, place the draft aside a second time. Then check it again.
Step 3: Understand the Writing
For truly great freelance writing editing, it’s not enough that you can proofread. You also have to understand what you have read. Notice I didn’t say, “...what you are reading”. Good writing is about conveying information and ideas.
So, it really doesn’t matter what you know before you read someone’s work. What matters is what you learn as a result of reading their work. If you don’t have a greater understanding of the subject matter afterwards, that’s a sign that some editing—or even a rewrite—might be in order. Always read to learn.
Step 4: Fix the Writing Problem
Destructive criticism accomplishes nothing. Destructive criticism is when you are quick to point out flaws in someone’s work without offering suggestions to correct them. If the error is a simple punctuation problem then fix it. If you see that error repeatedly, fix the source of the problem.
Suggest how to rewrite awkward sentences. If you can’t fix the problem yourself let the writer fix it. But always, edit and critique someone's work as you’d want done for your writing. That should mean “fair and honest” rather than “overly kind”.
Although many people think that freelance writing editing focuses only on the mechanics of writing. Don't forget it's really about the craft.