The Joys of Line Editing


There are some writers out there who live for line editing. They find it all kinds of satisfying to go word by word through their own work, or someone else's, with a fine-toothed comb picking out filler like headlice. 
I am not one of these writers. 
However, I can confidently say that line editing is a must. When I'm finished with this blog post, I'll go through it one time quickly. I'll change some words here and there, and I'll look for typos. I probably won't question whether I've used the most concise phrases or most effective and efficient words. The result will end up being very typical of the way I talk, rather than a highly polished piece of communication. 
If I was writing something I was expecting to send to a publisher, it would be a different story. Words matter a lot in those cases, both in terms of what gets left in and what gets taken out. 
I read an article this morning on The Write Life that struck me as a great place to start when you line edit your own piece. It's following that kind of straightforward advice that makes you (and me) better at writing. 
Of course, if you're really serious about the piece, you'll want to find a professional copyeditor or two. But that's a whole new ball game. 

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