No matter what you’re writing – a resume, a blog post, a newsletter, a tweet, a grocery list – every piece of content needs an good edit. Even an editor.
I recently helped a client write his resume. I’d worked on his content for a few years, so I knew his voice and message well. He’s intelligent, a well-known leader in his field, and makes one of the best first impressions I’ve ever experienced. No matter if you were his C-suite peer or a temp worker new that week, he’d make it a priority to know your name plus at least one unique fact about your life. In short, this guy has been my dream client.
The writing of his resume, however, was a bit of a nightmare.
Why You Need a Good Edit
It wasn’t that the content was poorly written or disorganized; he’s a masterful public speaker and writer. Rather, it was the length. More specifically, it was his initial unwillingness to edit that length. Four pages of non-negotiable content. Four.
As a writer, I understood his strong ties to his words. As an editor, I needed to work some magic.
Here’s how I (gently) persuaded him to let me edit his tome down to two pages. Maybe it will help you, too.
- You know your subject matter so well that you’ve built an entire sub-vocabulary to talk about it. The problems arise when no one else speaks your language quite as fluently.Speak to us as though your dialect is one we’re only just learning. Borrow some of our words to teach us your own.
- As writers, we are always too close to our content. Our words are our babies. New and sweet and perfect and “Oh! I think she just smiled at me!”Let your editor hold your baby for awhile. I promise we’ll return her in an even better mood. We might even teach her to walk.
- Chances are, you aren’t the most wildly successful writer in the known universe. Either am I. (Unless one of our names happens to be Neil Gaiman or J.K. Rowling.) But together, we can come up with something well worth reading and memorable.It’s called teamwork. When done correctly and positively, collaboration works wonders.
- Your content shouldn’t exhaust your reader. As Dr. Seuss once wrote, “So the writer who breeds more words than he needs, is making a chore for the reader who reads.” Attention spans rely on readable fonts, ample white space, and hard-working sentences. Cut the lazy words; the ones that look pretty but ultimately don’t add magic to your message.
- Take my advice. But also take the advice of your industry peers. I’m a pretty effective editor, and I’ve enjoyed some success as a writer, but I may not be a professional in your specific field. Blend my input with that from those you admire, and the result will be as perfect as it can be.
Spoiler alert: It worked. My client took my advice, remained open to my edits, accepted help from his most respected colleagues, and now his resume is truly a thing of beauty.
Oh! I think it just smiled at me.
(If you think your blog needs a little oomph to stand out, think about hiring someone to edit your work).
