Writing | Editing
Insider Advice From An Editor
Tips To Improve Everything You Write
These are my most commonly used notes as an editor on Medium.
Your article is missing a subtitle. Your display subtitle shows the first few lines of your text, which looks unprofessional. Add a subtitle below the title and format it using the small T format tool. Also, go into edit mode (click on the three dots), choose Change Display Title/Subtitle, and make any needed changes there.
Formatting is more important than you realize. Most people read using their phone. They’re daunted by large blocks of text. I try to keep paragraphs to 4 or 5 lines maximum.
Large blocks of text benefit from increased formatting. Feature a single sentence in between two blocks for emphasis. Create subtitles to break up main sections of your text.
The reader needs a place to rest their eyes.
Relevant Quotes are a great way to add value. Use the double quote format tool to really give it emphasis. Quotes provide another perspective. They also allow the reader to pause in your story.
A video might add to your content. A relevant You-Tube video may add to your content.
Avoid repeating the same word many times. I sometimes search for words that I know are overused. The word ‘like’ and ‘that’ are often culprits for me. Use Ctrl F and search a word. Change some of them to synonyms and improve your writing.
Just get to the point. Use a direct approach. Instead of writing: ‘In his memoir, the famous author Alice Smith said…..’, TRY ‘Alice Smith, the famous xxx recently …….”
What is your message exactly? If you aren’t clear about your message, how is the reader supposed to figure it out. Decide what your message is.If you ramble on with no clarity, your reader feels like they are sitting beside your confused Grandfather at a family get together. If your message is clear in your opening, it will draw your reader in. A one-line take away at the end always improves an article.
‘Tell them what you are going to say, say it and then tell them what you said.’
If you use this article as a quick checklist before you submit your article, you will be seen as a great writer by your editors.
Your articles won’t sit waiting for corrections and your editors will publish you more quickly.
I’m a new writer on Newsbreak and appreciate your support.
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