Content creation doesn’t happen quickly. Even experienced writers rarely produce their best work on the first draft. They revise several times before getting their articles out the door.
The best articles in prestigious magazines always get some help, just like a diva looking ravishing on the red carpet after fashion stylists, make-up artists, and hair and nail experts have done their best to prep her. Similarly, an excellent piece of writing benefits from different inputs before being published.
Many famous bloggers and authors research and write their drafts, but a skilled editor and proofreader always come behind to wrap up their work and finish the process.
Unfortunately, up to recently, most freelance writers couldn’t afford this luxury, and editing gets often overlooked. Hello, AI Writers.
AI Writers To The Rescue
Today there are AI writers and editing tools to assist you. However, consider how you want to use them to enhance your work. For example, ChatGPT can be used to brainstorm ideas for blog posts, videos, and other content.
You can also use ChatGPT to assist with optimizing your content for search engines. A job once done by SEO experts is now available via AI writers.
Primarily, you can conduct your topic research via AI writers and identify trends worth writing about and sources you can use to verify your findings.
AI writers are not the be-all and end-all so, you will must learn how to edit.
4 Editing Tips You Should Use
Here are four editing tips that every freelance content writer should know and use.
1. Avoid Empty Filler Words
One of the biggest mistakes content writers make is packing a lot of information and ideas into one sentence. They use many empty filler words that add no real value to their content.
Let’s look at a few sentences to exemplify this problem:
- “There are many people who misunderstand the words” AS OPPOSED TO “Many people misunderstand the words.”
Or
- “It takes patience to build trust,” AS OPPOSED TO “Trust takes patience.”
The words “it” and “there” followed by a form of the verb “to be” are called grammar expletives and they dilute the writing directedness. A good editor cuts the superfluous use of expletives and emphasizes the proper drivers in the sentence.
2. Avoid Weak Verbs
Choosing the proper verbs can make your writing clearer, stronger, and more persuasive. A strong verb can paint a vivid picture in your readers’ minds.
Content writers often use the verb “to be” in the first draft. The problem with “to be” verbs is that they can weaken the words that follow.
The solution is to replace them with more powerful alternatives. For example, instead of “The weather was beautiful,” use “The sun shone brightly that day.”
3. Avoid Weak Adjectives
Similar to verbs, adjectives can drain out the energy from your text. Savvy editors and content creators avoid using words like “very” and “really” before common adjectives.
Some examples are:
- “Really bad” instead of “Excruciating.”
- “Really good” instead of “Excellent.”
Or
- “Very common” instead of “Ordinary.”
Taking “very” and “really” out of the equation is certainly a “great” thing, as is the use of strong alternatives like “Thrilled” instead of “Happy.”
4. Know Your Punctuation
You can be the best storyteller in the world, but if you lack grammar skills, your mistakes will turn readers off.
While an auto-correct program can quickly detect typos, more subtle errors can sneak into your text. The sparingly use of the comma is one of the most common punctuation mistakes most freelance content writers make.
Here’s an example:
“You can neglect editing, and the audience reading your text may not notice, but your ideas will be lost.”
In case you didn’t notice, the missing comma between “editing” and “” suggest “means you can neglect the audience reading your text,” which is precisely the opposite of what you should do or intend, for that matter. Of course, if you read it again, you will realize the sentence’s meaning. But if people need to go back to grasp what you’re saying, your ideas AND your audience will likely be lost.
Conclusion
Small changes in your writing can fuel enthusiasm and make people devour your post. It’s just a matter of finding the most potent and specific words. If this is too hard for you, there is always the content writer’s little helpers – AI writers!
