One of the ways I am trying to avoid silly mistakes is by making sure each post goes through an assembly line process. This ensures that there are several checkpoints where small mistakes can be spotted and fixed. When I write a post, I try to follow these steps:
- Write. No matter how messy it is, I just try to write the post in a Word Document. I don’t care about punctuation, grammar, spelling or technique – I Just write. I do this in a Word document because that is how I save all my posts in an archive to be used later for a sermon, article – or whatever may be needed in the future (perhaps past the time I have a blog).
- Edit. After I write, then I do my editing on the computer screen. I edit the post the best that I can right there in that .Doc file.
- Print. After I’ve done all my heavy editing on the screen, then I print it off. I have found that simply reading it on paper catches some of my most glaring (and even the simplest) mistakes. This is also when I do the bulk cutting of unneeded words and phrases.
- Post. After making the changes and edits found when reading the print version, I then cut and paste the article in the site. I use a WordPress site because it makes it so easy to post.
- Edit. I edit it again by re-reading it in the post form of my site. This allows for my computer’s built-in spell check to catch things that Word may not have.
- Picture. Once the post is done, I go find a photo on iStock that works well with the post. I want something that conveys the emotion of the content in the post – because a picture is worth a thousand words.
- Hyperlink. Then I re-read the post (yes, again) and I look for any words that would be good to add a hyperlink too – for clarity or for making my post more worth the read.
- Preview. Once I have it all done, I push the “Preview” button that is built into my site. This allows me to see the page before it goes live. Here again, I read the post and make any necessary formatting changes to make the post aesthetically appealing.
You will notice that the post gets read and edited 4 or 5 times before it is live. The first edits are checking the basics – grammar, content, clarity etc. The last few edits are trying to get the post to as few words as possible but still keep the content weighted and worth reading.
Let’s face it – there are hundreds of thousands of “Bad posts” on the web. Why would I want to add to that?
How do you ensure that your posts are well edited and have good content?
