Things Writers Do, Part 17: Proofread

Quality writers revise and edit their work; they also proofread, detecting overlooked errors in grammar, spelling, capitalization, punctuation, sizing, and spacing, among many other linguistic and graphical elements. They protect their REP:

• Revise — for ideas
• Edit — for expression
• Proofread — for correctness

Things That Writers Do, Part 16: Edit

The previous WORDS ON THE LINE post described revising, the process of reorganizing, adding, and deleting content. The next round of rewriting, editing, moves the writer's work from structure to style, ensuring the sentences achieve rhythm and the words suit the characters of the story or the point of the essay.

Indeed, good writing is rewriting; there are no short cuts. 

Things Writers Do, Part 15: Revise

Good writing is rewriting. Professional writers know they must reorganize paragraphs and even whole sections of their prose if it makes for better drama, add content to the thinner passages to make them more vivid, and delete content that does not move the narrative along. No matter how good the style of a sentence may be, it's useless if it doesn't help tell the story. This is the work that writers do.

Things Writers Do, Part 14: Learn

Writers are always learning about: 

• trends in grammar
• trends in rhetoric
• amazing moments in the lives of family, friends, and neighbors 
• different ways of writing the same idea
• historical events
• world events
• local news
• cultural changes
• their subject matter
• changes in various industries
• changes in approaches to writing 
• changes in the publishing industry
• differences between an amoeba and a paramecium
• differences between electrical, solar, and nuclear energy
• changes in the northern and southern ice caps 
• the work a sea captain does
• how a street got its name
• body language
• baby language
• why some trees grow only in certain places

You name it and they're learning about it. If you like learning, write.

Things Writers Do, Part 13: Seek Feedback

Experienced writers are confident enough to seek feedback on their latest drafts. They might go to an established author, a first-rate editor, an accomplished storyteller, or even an avid reader of their genre to get an idea of whether they are hitting the right notes. 

Those who see such an approach as a lack of confidence had better look again. It takes self-aware writers to know that they may see their story in an entirely different way from their potential readers. They need a reality check, no matter how well they think they can turn a phrase or spin a yarn. Too bad more presidents, CEOs, school principals, and teachers don;t think like that.

Things Writers Do, Part 12: Submit

Writers do not like rejection, but this does not mean they fear it. Of course, they wish their manuscripts are accepted by the first publisher they submit to. But they are realistic, realizing unsolicited manuscripts are more often rejected than accepted.

Publishers may turn down a well-written manuscript for numerous reasons. For one, the timing may be bad, as the manuscript covers an issue the publisher had explored in detail recently. Another reason could be audience: the publisher reject manuscripts they like because they know the topic would not appeal to their readers. Membership could be another factor, as some sources publish only the work of their paid members. Politics also can be a factor. The publisher likes the article or book but it doesn't align with their organizational philosophy. Among many other considerations can be the writer's literary reputation, subject-matter credibility, relationship with the publisher, writing style, content depth, and narrative structure.

To professional writers, these reasons are just excuses pseudo-writers use to give up. Rejection is a part of the job. Get on board with it, improve your manuscript, and resubmit it elsewhere. But always be submitting.   

Things Writers Do, Part 11: Push

In the countless of interviews of successful authors I have read and heard, not once has an interviewee said, "I am satisfied with what I have written." The objective is to write, not to finish once and for all. Once they have completed the piece, they move on to the next one. Writers write; that's what they do.

Writers see themselves in a state of development, continuously sharpening their craft by reading, writing, editing, learning, experiencing. They likely take great pleasure in completing a literary work, but the reward for them is more work. Writing is not something that they one day hope to retire from. Indeed, it is their essence, so they just keep pushing along.