Home
>
Article Writing
>
How To Edit Your Articles As You Write

How To Edit Your Articles As You Write

Increase your ezine subscribers by submitting articles once or twice a week to the opt-in ezines. Read by thousands, even hundreds of thousands, you get 10-25 new subscribers for each submission. Your articles also bring people to your Web site to buy your products. Use this checklist to edit your own work.

Knowing these benefits, you want to create and submit as many excellent articles as you can. At times, you have the articles complete, but don't have anyone handy to edit them. While it's best to get at least two other edits from business associates, you can edit your articles yourself with a little help.

Use this checklist to edit your own work:

1. Start your introduction with a question or startling fact. You must hook your readers with something that reaches their emotions.

2. Make your introduction only a few sentences. Your readers want to get to the heart of your article fast. They want easy-to- read quick tips. Long stories can bring a yawn to your reader.

3. At the end of your introduction, include your article's thesis to stay on track and make your article clear and compelling. For instance, "use this checklist to edit your own work."

4. Make all of your sentences short. Since standard sentence length is 15-17 words, make most of your sentences under that number. Complex sentences and multiple phrases make the reading tougher. Make it easy for your readers to find the subject and verb of each sentence, so they get the point fast.

5. Avoid dull, slow sentences. To avoid passive construction, start them with a subject, and then follow with a verb. For instance, "The coach marketed her business and books through submitting articles online" is an active sentence. "The coach's books were marketed online through submitting articles." is passive. Drop linking verbs such as "is," "was," "seemed," or "had." Replace them with power, active verbs. Instead of "She is beautiful," you could say, "Her beauty compels you to stare at her."

6. Aim for compelling, clear copy. Write for the 8-10th grade reader. Don't try to impress with pompous words such as "utilize." Always think "What's in it for them?"

7. Use specific nouns and names. General references don't engage your readers' emotions. Let them see the size, color, and shape. Rather than say, "Write your book fast to make lifelong income," say "Write and finish your book fast so you can take that long vacation to a Caribbean island." Money alone doesn't motivate, but what we can do with it does.

8. Let go of certain adverbs. Words like very, suddenly, and sparingly, tell instead of show. Use adverbs as often as you celebrate your birthday. Did I show, rather than tell? Your readers are hungry to experience feelings as well as picture themselves in your examples.

9. Let go of adjectives. Instead of saying, She is a super-intelligent person," you could say, "She's a genius."

10. Appeal to the senses of sight, sound, and emotions. Telling is not effective. Instead of "Buy this book today because it is so useful," say, "Would you like to double, even quadruple your Online income in three months?"

11. Cut redundancies. Too much repetition in your articles speaks boring or "talking down" to your readers. Be willing to part with some of your "precious" words. Your first edit should reduce your words at least by one-fourth.

12. Don't use pompous words to try to impress your reader.
Use the shortest, simplest, most well-know word. Check your word's number of syllables. The more syllables, the more difficult.

13. Keep the subject and verb as close together as possible. Don't make your reader work to get the meaning.

14. Use the present or past tense of the verb rather than the "-ing" form of the verb. Instead of "she is singing," say, "she sings or she sang.

15. Put your point at the end of a sentence, a paragraph, or chapter for emphasis. This position hooks the reader to pause and notice or hooks him to keep reading.

16. Cut clich?s. Once, original metaphors, clich?s age and become trite. Instead of "Birds of a Feather Flock Together," you could say, "Birds of a Feather Need to Fly Away."

Make your articles sculptured and painted like a fine work of art. Your word choices do make a difference--both in commercial acceptance as well as audience understanding.

Self-editing will help.

Judy Cullins, 20-year book and Internet Marketing Coach, Author of 10 eBooks including "Write your eBook Fast," and "How to Market your Business on the Internet," she offers free help through her 2 monthly ezines, The Book Coach Says...and Business Tip of the Month at http://www.bookcoaching.com/opt-in.shtml and over 140 free articles. Email her at http://www.bookcoaching.com/opt-in.shtml

high-end home cleaning Des Plaines ..

In The News:

X Square Robot unveils Wall-OSS open-source AI model that helps robots adapt to unpredictable real-world tasks beyond narrow scenarios.

Airport workers report surge in fake lost luggage claims as scammers retrieve discarded baggage tags containing passenger names and travel information.

Unlike robotaxi competitors, Tensor focuses on consumer-owned self-driving cars that adapt to highways and urban roads with full redundancy systems for safety.

Medicare scams cost $54 billion in 2024 as fraudsters target beneficiaries with fake calls demanding payments and personal information to steal benefits.

Scammers create fake Evite invitations that mimic legitimate event emails, requiring users to verify senders and use antivirus software for protection.

The new Apple Watch hypertension feature passively monitors blood pressure patterns over 30 days using sensors to detect chronic high blood pressure signs.

Chrome extension spyware disguised as a free VPN service highlights security risks after it captured private browsing data from trusted sites.

New research shows how fatty acids in cooking oil can safely dissolve and recover silver from circuit boards without harmful chemicals or environmental damage.

The Fox News AI newsletter gives you information on the latest AI technology advancements, and about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Anthropic investigates alarming AI abuse case where hacker automated entire cybercrime campaign using Claude, stealing sensitive data from defense and healthcare firms.

TikTok, Meta and YouTube restrict Charlie Kirk shooting videos with age gates and warnings while X faces criticism for allowing continued circulation.

Cybercriminals use fake troubleshooting websites to trick Mac users into running terminal commands that install Shamos malware through ClickFix tactics.

San Francisco startup Fable launches Showrunner, an AI platform dubbed the 'Netflix of AI' that generates animated episodes from text descriptions with Amazon support.

Apple raised iPhone prices for some models despite receiving tariff relief from President Donald Trump, with the new lineup starting at $799 for the base model.

A two-story 3D concrete printed home in Western Australia demonstrates faster construction methods that could reshape American housing amid rising costs.

Credit scores remain important during retirement for insurance rates and housing applications, while seniors become prime targets for identity theft and financial scams.

Scammers now send unexpected packages with QR codes that redirect victims to fraudulent websites or download malicious software to steal sensitive information.

Meeting AI tools record private conversations alongside work discussions, creating privacy risks that can be managed with proper settings and awareness.

Hotel privacy concerns are valid but rare, with methods to detect hidden tech using smartphone flashlights, mirror tests and scanning apps.

Improve your Wi-Fi speed and reliability with 10 simple router optimization tips that don't require special apps or expensive subscriptions.

A Columbia University breach exposed names, Social Security numbers and academic records of nearly 869,000 people, with notifications beginning in August.

Rental car drivers use AI-powered apps like Proofr to protect themselves from unfair damage fees as major companies deploy automated inspection tools.

Fox News' AI newsletter brings you the latest on technology advancements around artificial intelligence.

OnTrac data breach between April 13-15, 2025, exposed personal information of over 40,000 people including Social Security numbers and medical records.

How To Edit Your Articles As You Write

Article Writing