How Medium Improves your Editing
A little trim, here and there
“How much do you cut from your first draft?”
“The general rule is 30%. That’s about the amount of foam in the glass above. Your reader wants beer. Oh, and remember… Don’t take your time deciding, just edit. Say bye-bye. You’ll know it works the moment passages fall together like Tetris blocks.”
The beauty of Medium is you can return to your work at any time to add links or clarify passages
A typist is a purist like an audiophile that records on tape and that’s it. It’s one take per typewritten page, and done for me. No overdubs. Digital conversion is simple and clean. However, I am learning about the world of editing through Medium through the use of the typing machine at the same time. Typewriting is fixed, and blogging is mutable. So far it’s been a beautiful practice. A hybrid.
We are interacting with ideal readers all the time. It should be our goal to provide the highest quality products and services
A product is a book.
A service is a blog post.
Some creators mix the two
No issue with that at all, so long as the products and services are of the best quality. And if they are not; edit until they are.
Okay, now you have a first draft saved and ready to publish, and you may be thinking — ‘phew, that’s done. Want to relax. No. You still have much to do.
Your edits should support what your readers enjoy about your writing.
Readers respond positively to well-written work. A sweeping run of poetry can be just as desirable as something like — he kicked down the door, guns blazing. It can be delivered subtle, descriptive, right in your face gruesome, and it can also keep you far away, which builds a tension of its own. Your readers will like it so long as it is true to you — the way you’re experiencing it. Feeling it in the moment.
Readers respond to poorly-written work by going away
Don’t fret, you can get them back, though it’s a hard sell where you may be under scrutiny until you re-earn the reader’s trust. Who knows how long that will take. It’s your responsibility to do your best from now on, so forget about the past and keep on writing.
Pay attention to the type of engagement happening with your articles, and make what appears as a weakness into strength. Make it the best part of the article. Challenge yourself to do that when you edit.
Sometimes we forget the audience we are talking to
A common error is to rant about someone publicly. A writer who commits errors regularly in the manner of gossip, complaining, finger-pointing, canceling, shaming, blocking, and dismissing human beings in general, or any group — is displaying an inability to offer quality products and services to the public.
An insult is a product that no one wants
So don’t sell it. It’s born out of frustration. An inability to process one’s own emotions before deciding to project culpability outward. An insult is a product that no one wishes to buy into or entertain because it is vacant of love.
Include comments on why you decided to edit your post if you’re adding a substantial section to it
Let’s say you added a big section on spirituality and now the article on crypto just doesn’t have the same vibe to it, at all. Best announce that you made some changes in case someone is looking for the old crypto-centered article.
As long as you enjoy being truthful to yourself and others, you’re set
No matter what someone may try to convince you of — what you are doing is done in the light of love, and is truthful, and courageous. This will always keep you afloat.
It’s a gift to receive feedback/criticism from others
Someone can come to you and tell you that there was a section they just couldn’t get through but otherwise really enjoyed it. That means you have a piece that is nearly spot-on. Go back and make this part that was sluggish into the most exciting part of your book or article. Then see what the reader says. Refine your work. Make it more exciting and informative. This is part of the fun.
As far as Medium posts go — edit and reformat them until they shine like diamonds.
Do it all the time. Every morning I check my Medium Partner Program earnings while at the same time I edit the article that got the most attention the day before to make it even better.
Then I edit the article that has gotten the least attention. I sharpen it up, change the titles and tags, and repost.
And on this cycle goes until I have a steady rotation of top-quality articles available for my ideal readers.
This is a constant work in progress if you’re doing it alone
You will want to add links, work on SEO, highlight this, fix that, and read this article by someone you love, then clap and comment, and on this goes. Take it one step at a time.
I look forward to serializing all of my typewritten pages. This will take time. I will do it.
It’s good to have things to look forward to
This stands most true in the world of reading and writing.
