How to Self-Edit

Welcome to the Grammar Minute, where we’re saving the English language sixty seconds at a time! I’m Lauren Smyth, and here are some tips for editing your own writing. It can be tough to spot your own mistakes. That’s why most books go through multiple rounds of editing with multiple editors before they ever make it to your bookshelf—and why many of them still have typos after all that. Some simple tips can help make your writing look and feel less like your writing, which can help you look with a more objective eye. Try changing the font style, size, or color. Copy and paste the text into another application. Read the text aloud. Stop writing, go do something completely different, and come back a few hours or even days later. Take frequent breaks from staring at your screen—every twenty or thirty minutes, ideally. Read someone else’s work, preferably high-quality work that you admire. When in doubt, for longer projects, it’s best to have someone else look over your work. This is especially true if you want that work to be published. Editing may seem like something you can do yourself, but unfortunately, it usually isn’t. That’s your Grammar Minute! Visit thegrammarminute.com for more tips and tricks.