Any editing suggestions

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vjlenin
Posts: 175
Joined: Tue Feb 05, 2008 11:40 am
Location: India
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Any editing suggestions

Post by vjlenin »

Hi there all, even after writing more than ten articles here, I consistently make mistakes in my newer articles and get a rejection as a rule. Nowadays I tend to open my emails for seeing the unread rejection mails. The last thing I want is give the editor some more work as my share. I just hate to do that. I just want to create a perfect article, and save time and effort of both of us.

I draft my articles, and spend with each of them about three hours or so editing. Still, it seems that I miss some of the errors in the article, and get rejections. Then, when I look at them closely after the hit, I spot the obvious blunders I made, and correct them. Then I get them accepted. can anyone give me practical suggestions as to how to edit the content at the first time itself, and get it accepted right away.
Thanks, LenX
Lauren
Posts: 72
Joined: Mon Nov 12, 2007 5:51 pm
Location: Paris

Post by Lauren »

Hi there,

I've seen some of your other posts on the forum, and it seems like you're working really hard. So many people get a rejection and just run away, so I applaud your effort to truly improve!

I do have one suggestion for you. When you write an article, don't submit it right away. Save it, close it, and don't look at it for an entire day. Then read it aloud to yourself before submitting it. It sounds like once you get a rejection and reread your work, the mistakes are very obvious to you. If you wait a day or two before looking back at your work and submitting, you'll be "fresh" when you reread (like you are after you've waited for the rejection email), and you might catch the mistakes before submitting.

I hope that's helpful!

Lauren
vjlenin
Posts: 175
Joined: Tue Feb 05, 2008 11:40 am
Location: India
Contact:

Post by vjlenin »

sure is Lauren. Thanks for the reply.
Word Gypsy
Posts: 469
Joined: Tue Jan 24, 2006 9:16 pm
Location: USA

Post by Word Gypsy »

I have to agree with Lauren. She gave you some great advice there. Sometimes it is a good idea just to put a few hours in between your completion of the article and the submission process. It gives you quite a different perspective.

Another strategy that you can try with longer articles is to read part of the article and then come back to it later. This way you are fresh throughout your entire editing process.

Congrats on your additional sales as well! :)
Celeste Stewart
Posts: 3528
Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2006 5:28 pm
Location: California
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Post by Celeste Stewart »

Someone on an earlier thread suggested changing fonts as a way to see things differently. I've tried that a few times and it seems to help by tricking you somehow.

For example, if you normally type in Times New Roman, that font becomes so familiar to you that your eyes just kind of skip ahead and miss typos, spelling mistakes, and other errors. So if you change the font to something different like Arial, it's visually jarring which I think makes you subconsciously slow down and see the text from a new perspective.
Bailey M
Posts: 11
Joined: Wed Feb 27, 2008 2:32 pm

Post by Bailey M »

That suggestion sounds like it's for me - right after I tear off these fake $40 nails, sigh.... :(
Celeste Stewart
Posts: 3528
Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2006 5:28 pm
Location: California
Contact:

Post by Celeste Stewart »

LOL. I keep my nails nice and short but the keyboard on my laptop still manages to mess me up. Never had a problem with my old keyboard. I don't know why but this one seems to grab my fingers at the oddest moments and insert all kinds of strange characters at the most inopportune times. Plus typing with a 1 1/2 year old in my lap doesn't help!

I always wondered how those women with the fake nails managed to type.
jwatkins
Posts: 39
Joined: Tue May 08, 2007 3:23 pm

Post by jwatkins »

Download a free copy of readplease. Sorry i don't have the link. I have used it to catch many mistakes. You copy and paste your article and then a computer voice (pretty decent) reads your article back to you. Also helps with flow.
breidi
Posts: 21
Joined: Thu Nov 29, 2007 4:58 pm
Location: Virginia
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Post by breidi »

{Download a free copy of readplease.}

This is an idea I never thought of. I think that is a great idea and will help some with the editing troubles I am having.
JD
Posts: 316
Joined: Mon May 14, 2007 8:46 am
Location: Canada

Post by JD »

Yes - thanks for this tip (readplease). I've used it for a few articles and it's proved very useful.

Jane
vjlenin
Posts: 175
Joined: Tue Feb 05, 2008 11:40 am
Location: India
Contact:

Post by vjlenin »

Yes, I already have readplease but never used it in editing. It is a really wonderful suggestion.
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