Never Skip Editing

You’re reading an excerpt of Great Founders Write, by Ben Putano, writer, entrepreneur, and book publisher. He’s the founder of Damn Gravity Media, a publishing house that inspires and educates tomorrow’s great founders. Purchase now for lifetime access to the book and on-demand video course.

How to Mold Your Writing Into the Perfect Message

It took me years to get comfortable reading my own writing. It’s a lot like hearing yourself talk on video. You feel exposed and a bit like a fraud.

Because of this, I would never edit my work. I would fly through the draft and hit send without a second thought. I told myself my writing sounded more natural this way. If “natural” meant sounding like an illiterate caveman, then I nailed it. In reality, I was just hurting my credibility and confidence.

My most embarrassing lapse in editing came shortly after college. I was in my first full-time job as a consultant for a non-profit. My boss knew I enjoyed writing, so he asked me to create a promotional flier for an upcoming event. I was excited about the project … so excited, I failed to edit. Over-confident and over-caffeinated, I breezed through the assignment and printed out the final version for my boss. He returned it fifteen minutes later with more red ink than I’ve ever seen. I made typos big and small. I even misspelled our organization’s name!

I was completely embarrassed, but it taught me an invaluable lesson about writing. I pinned up that red-inked flier in my cubicle as a reminder to always edit my work.

Editing is more than just catching typos and grammatical errors. It’s about saying what you mean in the clearest, most effective way. In this chapter, you’ll learn my four-round editing process to help you nail every piece of writing.

I know what you’re thinking. Four rounds of editing? That’s overkill. I’m a founder, not William Faulkner.

But here’s the thing: It’s actually easier to edit four times than just once. This four-round edit will save you time in the long run. Let me explain why.

Much like deconstructing the writing process (see the section Simplify), the editing process can also be broken down into its component parts. Editing isn’t just one task—it’s four:

• Substance

• Style

• Voice

• Proofreading

First you edit for substance. Is your argument clear and compelling? Do you have your facts straight? Do you have the right stories and analogies to bring your piece to life?

Next you edit for style. Are you trying to sound formal or casual? Serious or funny? Expert or contrarian?

The third edit is for voice. Simply put, does your writing sound like it came from you and only you?

Finally, you proofread. This is where you check for grammar, punctuation, and spelling. (This is what most people think about when it comes to editing.)

It’s really hard to edit for substance while proofreading at the same time. They require two different types of focus. By reviewing one layer at a time, you’ll move smoothly and quickly through the editing process and feel more confident in the final product.

Let’s look at each of the four edits more closely.

The Four Edits

Before we get started, here’s a reminder from my editor: don’t try to write and edit at the same time.

Write first, walk away from the draft, and then return to edit. Reviewing with fresh eyes will make a big difference. Even a minute of intentional breathing is enough to reset your brain to prepare for editing.

First Edit: Substance

The first edit is all about the big picture. Forget grammar, punctuation, and word choice for now. Focus on the substance of your writing.

Here are the key questions to answer during the substance edit:

• Why am I writing this? (i.e., What is my purpose?)

• Who am I writing to and why should they care?

• Am I saying everything that needs to be said?

• Where are the holes in my logic?

• Are my stories interesting?

• What can I cut out?

Here’s an example: Say you’re writing a customer success playbook for your new customer support hire. You’ve written the first draft and you’re now ready to edit.

The substance edit is to make sure the directions make sense. Read through your steps for providing excellent customer service—are they accurate? More importantly, are they actionable for someone new to the company? Did you provide enough context for your new employee to take over the job? Did you share why the role of customer success is vital to your company?

Think of the substance edit as your Minimal Viable Product, or MVP. Your writing won’t be pretty, but it does the job you intended it to do.

With the bones of your writing in place, we’ll start to clean it up in the second edit.

Second Edit: Style

Like we learned earlier in Train Your Team for Success, how you deliver your content is just as important as what you deliver.

Think about style as the user interface of your writing. Maybe you prefer a clean and minimal design. Maybe you like something bold and dramatic. Some prefer a serious and professional style while others want to come off as irreverent and casual.

Writing style doesn’t mean using frilly language and clever turns of phrase. It’s simply how you deliver your content in a way that’s most effective. The goal of the style edit is to make your writing clear and interesting.

You’re no longer looking at the big picture here. During the style edit, you’re reviewing each sentence on its own. Here are the key questions to ask yourself:

• How do I want my reader to describe me? (e.g., “The casual contrarian;” “The entertaining expert;” “The no-bull professional”)

• How can I make each sentence more simple and straightforward?

• How can I make this phrase more clear (rather than clever)?

• Am I writing for the skimmers?

• Is my language personal?

• Am I using active verbs?

These questions map closely to the rules for clear writing from the section Simplify. Use that chapter as a guide during your style edit.

Let’s go back to your customer success playbook. What vibe are you trying to give off? That of a no-bull professional or an entertaining expert? (In the case of this playbook, your writing style will likely impact the way your team interacts with customers, so be intentional.)

Can you simplify a sentence using a shorter word or phrase? Can you break up long sentences? Can you make a sentence more interesting with active verbs and personal language? Can you add headers, bulleted lists, and highlights to make the playbook skimmable?

Your second edit will take the most time, but this is where you really build communication leverage. Good style doesn’t just make your writing easier to read—it builds credibility and trust with your readers.

Third Edit: Voice

Voice is your personality in written form. Your writing should sound like it came from you and only you.

This is where many founders struggle. They feel the need to use big words and complicated phrases they would never say in real life. This makes their writing awkward and boring. It loses all personality.

How do you nail your writing voice so that it sounds like, well, you? Get ready to feel awkward —it’s time to read your writing out loud.

The voice edit is done completely out loud (hence the name). Read your writing out loud to yourself or to another person. This is a research-backed technique to develop your writing voice. Studies have shown that humans are born with the ability to keep rhythm, and rhythm is a large part of what makes your voice unique.

As you read your work out loud, you’ll discover clunky and unnatural sentences you’d never say during a conversation. You’ll also catch issues with your pacing, where one paragraph abruptly ends while another drags on. You’ll also notice missing words that your brain simply filled in while reading silently.

Reading your work out loud is like a superpower. It will instantly enhance your writing voice with personality and rhythm.

Fourth Edit: Proofread

The first three edits focused on the substance, style, and voice of your writing. Your work is now 90% done. But the last 10% takes your writing from good to great. This is the proofread.

Proofreading is the last bit of polish on your writing. This is where you check grammar, punctuation, spelling, and other rules you’d find in the Chicago or APA style guides. Skip this step at your own peril—a single misspelled word or run-on sentence can kill your credibility in some circles. It’s not fair, but it’s human nature to judge others on the tiniest mistakes.

I will not cover proofreading tips in detail here. There are many excellent books on the subject, including Elements of Style and the Chicago Manual of Style. But you don’t even need to read those anymore—there are numerous proofreading tools that are effective and inexpensive. I recommend using Grammarly or the Hemmingway App to do your proofreading.

Remember: Proofreading should be your last round of editing you do, not the first (and definitely not the only.) If you find yourself making substance or style changes during the proofread, stop and restart the editing process. It will be worth it.

If you’re not naturally confident in your writing, then congratulations: you’re human. But this is not a life sentence. You can become a clear and confident writer by spending a little extra time on each piece. If writing is a muscle, this four-part editing process is your workout routine.

Apply daily for best results.

Now you know the secret of great writers: they are simply great editors. But there’s one more trait that turns great writers—and great founders—into legendary ones.

That trait? The courage to show up, look themselves in the mirror, and do the right thing—even when it’s hard.

That’s next.

Free Tool #6 BONUS: Editing Cheat Sheet

Never skip editing. Go to www.greatfounderswrite.com/bonus, enter your email, then click on “Editing Cheat Sheet” to get the free tool. This cheat sheet will help you nail each round of editing so your message comes out perfect.