At some point, we’ve all heard the old adage “If it isn’t broke, don’t fix it.” Sometimes, it is shrewd advice, warning us to stick to the fundamentals. Other times, it is a caution against challenging the status quo. All too often, it results in the demise of campaigns, businesses and relationships.
It is so easy to be complacent. The warning signs are slow and subtle. And change involves so much effort, risk and vulnerability. So we leave well enough alone, stay the course…oblivious to dynamics rotting away the edges.
Many times, we want to go it alone. We tell ourselves that something is “good enough.” We don’t look at our copy and creative as what it could and should be. That’s where the craft of editing comes into play.
Editing is far more than final stage proofing. It is deconstructing every element of your work in development. It involves continually asking yourself difficult questions, where truthful answers require further time and effort. It is about truly stepping outside your comfort zone – and looking at your work from other perspectives.
In particular, creative analysis and strategic editing encompasses the following:
Background: Re-visit your premise. Who is your audience? What are their backgrounds, motivations and interests? What is your intent? What are their expectations? Is your content appropriate to their level of expertise and engagement? How do you balance your audience needs with your organization’s goals and vision?
Content: Weigh the value of everything. Always ask yourself why each element and sliver of information is important. How does it help achieve your objectives? Have you presented all necessary information? Does it have substance and pop?
Take ego and corporate convention out of the equation. Can you remove any extraneous words, sentences, details and concepts? Are there flaws in your argument that must be addressed? Have you fact-checked for accuracy?
Completeness: To be credible, your final product must have a natural, unified feel. Look for potential gaps in your work. Are your ideas developed enough? Have you devoted the appropriate weight to a particular topic or idea? Are there places where readers might detect missing content or shifts from established courses? Do you balance all perspectives to avoid bias? Have you provided enough evidence to be believable? Even more, look at your larger themes. Are there unexpected interconnections or directions that you could build on?
Clarity: You probably spent weeks sculpting your work. Your message may be clear to you, but look at it from your audience’s perspective. Would you understand your main points on first exposure? Are there any statements or concepts that require a previous knowledge or experience from your audience? Have you sheared your work of any ambiguity – except that which has pre-determined effect?
Effectiveness: Look over your text. Is your message compelling? Does it play on your readers’ imagination and curiosity? Hold their interest? Produce the desired reaction? Examine your pictures and graphics: do they reinforce or detract from your message? Does your formatting and headings properly break up content and direct the reader? If you employ repetition, do you present the content in unique and fresh ways?
Relationship: A reader, like a reputation, can be lost by a single wrong choice. How do you connect with readers? Make them care? Bring their daily lives into the text? Do you use examples from their experience? Appeal to their self-perceptions, aspirations, frustrations and fears? In short, always look for opportunities to keep your readers engaged. They must accept you as one of them.
Organization: Evaluate your structure. Would it seem logical to readers who are being introduced to your message? Are your concepts and arguments in the right order? Is the flow of information rationed in manageable chunks? Rearrange if necessary.
Style: Edwin Schlossberg, an acclaimed designer and author, once wrote that “the skill of writing is to create a context in which other people can think.” Assess your craft. Is your language easy-to-read, understand and digest? Are you writing at the appropriate reading level? Do you use varying sentence lengths and formats? Do your sentences contain too much or too little information? Do sentences and paragraphs build off of each other? Are transitions embedded to signal changes in direction? Do you sprinkle in an occasional metaphor or flashy verb so readers slow down and internalize your message?
Voice: You’ve probably heard, “It’s not what you say, but how you say it.” This is particularly pertinent to shaping your message. Does your audience expect you to be detached and fair – or do they crave ‘attitude?’ Is your tone appropriate – and consistent? Have you eliminated bias and self-serving commentary? Do you consistently use active voice?
Follow Up: Before you finalize your work, put it away for a few days. Allow your mind to marinate. Then, edit with a vengeance. In particular, look back at ideas you cut from previous drafts. Evaluate whether any of them still have relevance or resonance to the finished product.
Strategic editing involves asking the right questions in the right places. It is about asking what people need to know – and how they need to know it. In editing, you are constantly evaluating why each piece of information matters. You are looking at how your message is delivered – and whether the message itself is succinct, clear and convincing. Even more, strategic editing requires you to look below the surface. You are striving to make unique connections, both inside and outside the work product. Editing is always about experimentation and, hopefully, collaboration. It is the time when you step back and ask if you truly made the right choice. It is the discipline of facing up to your shortcomings and eliminating incongruities.
Strategic editing is the art of breaking what some thought didn’t need fixing – and forging something even greater.
Jeff Schmitt has spent 15 years in marketing, sales, training, client relations, project management, legal compliance and editing. He lives in Dubuque, IA and his e-mail is jschmittdbq@mchsi.com.
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