Editing… Editing Services
So why should I offer editing services? Well, I’ve ghost-written many books for my clients and edited them too. And obviously I’ve written many, in fact probably hundreds of sales letters, ads and advertorials, press releases and such like over the years, so I’m quite experienced.
Quite often someone will send me a manuscript or sales letter they have written and asked me to give it the once-over. Sure, I’ll look over it and I can virtually guarantee there will be some spelling or grammatical errors that need correcting at the very least. In most cases, there will be some rewording or condensing to be done also. So all this falls under the heading of editing. I suppose the best part about simply editing, as opposed to writing the whole project, is that the client has made an effort to input his or her ideas into the project and so looks on the project as their ‘baby’.
They have come up with the idea, written it all down in their own words and then just need to be sure that it all makes sense. I have made some very rewarding and long-lasting business relationships by simply offering this personal service. I think the skill in editing comes from understanding exactly what the client is trying to convey and who he is trying to get his message across to. So, when editing I find myself at both ends of the spectrum. I look at the writing from the writer’s perspective and then from the recipient’s or consumer’s perspective.
If I can agree to see the point of view of the writer and accept this from the consumer’s point of view then I will have edited the best I possibly can. What this all means in layman’s terms is that I generally cut out all the crap, all the repetitive nonsense and all the fluff and filler. I then replace this with facts and specs. The end result is a clean, crisp and easy to read document that gets across the sales message or vital information without losing the reader’s attention.
I’ll undertake simple editing and complex editing. The former can be something like an ad or email and the latter can be a 300 plus page book on just about any subject. Editing can be a subjective matter and so it’s important for me to remember that I’m editing on behalf of my client and not simply editing my own work. I also have to take into consideration, depending on the topic of the subject matter or the prospective target audience, the structure of the document. Editing includes looking at the correct use of words in the right contexts.
Needless to say, nouns, pronouns, verbs and adjectives have to be scrutinised and typos spotted and corrected. Punctuation appears to be a real mystery for many people and I’m always amused by the many uses of the apostrophe S.
If editing is something you might need help with… get in touch.
