Self-editing is hard. But finding out you need to self-edit is not hard at all. Take my last post for instance…I just reread it this morning and found all manner of issues with it, which makes me mad at myself, but there it is. Honestly in all its glory.

But the point of this post is to say, we SHOULD self-edit.

We should not subject our readers to anything less than perfect. Published posts, published books, stories, etc. SHOULD be self-edited (and of course, professionally edited when appropriate), not in its raw form.

I apologize.

Writing is self-editing.

My Teaser Tuesday post even had a typo in it!  I do try hard NOT to include typos. Bad grammar is usual for me, as I write as I speak, and I am a true blue Southerner, but I try to kill all typos.

So, here is a short list of things you can do to self-edit yourself. I am going to try to apply some of this stuff also. Starting with my NEXT post. 

1. Leave it alone. We should give the post, or other written matter a little rest before we put it out for consumption. Then, typos will appear like magic before our eyes. It did for me.
2.  Read it aloud. There is something to be said for reading slowly out loud to yourself. You will see things that you didn’t see when reading silently. Then, you can find the bad stuff easily.
3. Take out pet words. I am a just and very and really person. Those pet words are something you will find in my posts, etc. You should also look for words that you always use as well and consider removing or changing them.
4. Consider your comma. I am comma-challenged. I admit it. I put them where they shouldn’t be and forget them where they should. Do not be like me. This foible is why I try to get an editor for my books.
5. Pay attention to the red squiggly lines. Those red squiggly lines mean something is misspelled. Pay attention to that and fix it. Nobody wants to read a work of yours that reads like a furst-grader. <<< see?

Okay, so this is all I have time for this morning…but you get my drift. Thanks for being a fan and follower of my stuff. Even when it sucks.