nt is doing for you, you'll end up a sharply focused and clear document.

Use Your Point Sentence

Your point sentence gives you the point you want to make in one easy-to-read sentence Using your point sentence as a guide, go back through your new do

While the hardest part about copy writing can be starting the task, the most important part of writing is the editing process. Once you've put all the words on the page, your job is only beginning! You have a document full of good stuff, but without an edit, it's only a rough draft.

Edit as you go

Most of us compose on our computers, so it's easy to delete, rewrite, and backtrack as we go along. The problem, though, with this approach is that it breaks your rhythm, and most of us don't want to do that! Instead of backspacing to fix those spelling mistakes, or rephrasing that sentence right after you've written it, practice moving on. Don't worry—You'll catch that sentence when you re-read. And if you don't, it probably doesn’t have to be rewritten.

Save and reread

Once you've reached the end—and it's important to practice reaching the end before you go back!—save what you've written and step away. Give yourself a moment to get some space, and then dive back in. Take that first rereading to hit your typos and to reread what you've written. Then you can go back through for different reasons each time.

Check for Clarity

Have you used the right words in the right places? Do your sentences flow into reasonable paragraphs, and do your paragraphs make sense within the overall context of your point? If you know what each aspect of your document is doing for you, you'll end up a sharply focused and clear document.

Use Your Point Sentence

Your point sentence gives you the point you want to make in one easy-to-read sentence Using your point sentence as a guide, go back through your new doc

ers, so it's easy to delete, rewrite, and backtrack as we go along. The problem, though, with this approach is that it breaks your rhythm, and most of us don't want to do that! Instead of backspacing to fix those spelling mistakes, or rephrasing that sentence right after you've written it, practice moving on. Don't worry—You'll catch that sentence when you re-read. And if you don't, it probably doesn’t have to be rewritten.

Save and reread

Once you've reached the end—and it's important to practice reaching the end before you go back!—save what you've written and step away. Give yourself a moment to get some space, and then dive back in. Take that first rereading to hit your typos and to reread what you've written. Then you can go back through for different reasons each time.

Check for Clarity

Have you used the right words in the right places? Do your sentences flow into reasonable paragraphs, and do your paragraphs make sense within the overall context of your point? If you know what each aspect of your document is doing for you, you'll end up a sharply focused and clear document.

Use Your Point Sentence

Your point sentence gives you the point you want to make in one easy-to-read sentence Using your point sentence as a guide, go back through your new do

-read. And if you don't, it probably doesn’t have to be rewritten.

Save and reread

Once you've reached the end—and it's important to practice reaching the end before you go back!—save what you've written and step away. Give yourself a moment to get some space, and then dive back in. Take that first rereading to hit your typos and to reread what you've written. Then you can go back through for different reasons each time.

Check for Clarity

Have you used the right words in the right places? Do your sentences flow into reasonable paragraphs, and do your paragraphs make sense within the overall context of your point? If you know what each aspect of your document is doing for you, you'll end up a sharply focused and clear document.

Use Your Point Sentence

Your point sentence gives you the point you want to make in one easy-to-read sentence Using your point sentence as a guide, go back through your new do

to reread what you've written. Then you can go back through for different reasons each time.

Check for Clarity

Have you used the right words in the right places? Do your sentences flow into reasonable paragraphs, and do your paragraphs make sense within the overall context of your point? If you know what each aspect of your document is doing for you, you'll end up a sharply focused and clear document.

Use Your Point Sentence

Your point sentence gives you the point you want to make in one easy-to-read sentence Using your point sentence as a guide, go back through your new do

nt is doing for you, you'll end up a sharply focused and clear document.

Use Your Point Sentence

Your point sentence gives you the point you want to make in one easy-to-read sentence Using your point sentence as a guide, go back through your new document, asking yourself, “Does this all fit in with my point sentence? What works best?” Be ruthless. Anything that doesn't work, delete or cut into a new document.

Clean up

If you follow our advice about making notes as you go—using call-outs, track changes, header or footers, or just notes in the text, it's critical that you go through and clean those up. You want to make sure that you've dealt with or dismissed each note, and then delete it! But clean up also involves making sure that any editing you did didn't leave pieces of old sentences or sentence fragments.

These ideas should help you through any of the editing stages, but keep in mind that every draft needs an edit. We're not about to tell you how many times you need to write something before you're done, but each edit ought to get you closer—and clearer!

© 2006 Red Pepper Writing