Transition from a Writer to an Editor with this 3 Step Framework
December 8, 2022
I remember staring at the blank screen couple of years ago and wondering,
“Is this it?”
“Am I just going to write content for brands for the rest of my life?”
“Can I do something more?”
By then, I had accumulated years of writing experience. I had written blogs, case studies, e-books, website copy, podcast scripts, and every other format of content under the sun. I had worked with notable brands and even improved as a writer every day.
And after all this experience, I realized I was finally in a rut.
The exponential jumps in my skills were now incremental. The 2–3X increase in my paycheck was now stagnant for a while now.
If you’ve been freelancing or even working as an in-house content writer for a few years, chances are you’ve probably faced this dilemma at least once in your career.
But how do you get out of this rut?
By simply increasing your output as a service provider.
If you’re a freelancer, you can increase your output by building a team of writers, being in charge of editing their work, and going the agency route. If you’re working in-house, then you can aim to get the position of a content editor or content lead.
However, in both scenarios, your job changes drastically.
As a writer, your role generally includes conducting comprehensive research on industry-related topics, coming up with original ideas, building engaging narratives, conducting outreach, and, of course, writing.
As an editor, your role is to solely judge the efficacy of the content provided to you by your writers and edit it to make the content more engaging, informative, and convincing.
Sounds like a smooth transition, right?
I'm not sure about you, but it certainly did for me!
“I’m an experienced writer; how hard could it be to just edit?” I thought to myself.
And with just one small project, I realized I was out of my depth.
Being a good writer had nothing to do with being a good editor.
After multiple trials and errors, numerous contradictory revision cycles, and complete rewrites, I knew I couldn’t just do this job based on intuition.
I needed a framework that would help me develop a consistent workflow without compromising the quality of my work.
And that’s when I came up with the MMP Framework.
It’s a framework that I have used to edit over 2,000 content pieces in the past year without facing any roadblocks.
So bring out your notebooks, your editing masterclass starts now!
Stage 1:
Macro: Streamlining the Big Picture
The first step in editing content is to peruse it at the macro level.
Think of it as looking at your piece from a bird's-eye view.
Let’s say you’re reviewing an informative blog in the health and wellness industry. The aim of the blog is to simplify a complex and stigmatized healthcare topic like medication for mental health use.
As you’re reading through the blog, you notice that the writer is going on a tangent and explaining the different fields of psychology, and counseling techniques.
While these do fall under the theme of mental health, you have to ask yourself,
“Is this relevant to the main purpose of the blog?”
As the blog's editor, you should make sure that every part of the content ties back to the blog's main goal. If a segment is failing to do so, then that’s a redundancy that can be removed or replaced with something else.
In the present example, you need to let your writer know why talking extensively about different fields of psychology, and counseling techniques doesn’t meet the purpose of the blog. Moreover, you can suggest that the writer explore the stigmatization of mental health issues from a historical perspective. This would help the reader contextualize your intended narrative with their real-life experiences.
You want your reader to be engaged every step of the way. The moment their flow state breaks, they’ll bounce off the page.
Maintaining a cohesive and relatable flow of narration in any long-form content is how you eliminate that possibility.
It’s easy to jump straight to the language and grammar, but what’s the point of perfect grammar if your blog doesn’t fulfill its core purpose?
Now, ideally, macro edits should be discussed before the writer starts writing the piece. You should always ask your writer to share a definitive outline of the piece, complete with all the headers, sub-headers, and the purpose of each section.
This would help you reduce the possibility of having to deal with structural edits once the piece is finished.
Having said that, sometimes a certain narrative makes sense in the outline, but it just doesn’t translate well in the final draft. So I wouldn’t recommend ignoring this step even if you’ve finalized the outline beforehand.
Stage 2:
Micro: Reading between the lines
Now that you’ve solidified the structure and purpose of your content, it’s time to zoom in.
This is where you focus on sentences, redundancies, and voice.
Are the sentences too long? Are they filled with jargon? Are they written in a passive voice?
This is where you fine-tune the readability of the content.
We all know that each writer has their own unique style. It’s your job as an editor to ensure that their tonality is modulated enough to meet the criteria set by your client/brand.
Want to see this process in action?
Let’s circle back to the example of the blog that we were analyzing in the last step.
If you remember, the blog was supposed to be an engaging piece meant to introduce medication for mental health issues to new audiences.
Now, while you’re reading the piece submitted to you by the writer, you notice that the writer is using technical terms such as “psychiatric treatment”, and “symptom management” without providing an explanation.
While those terms are important, they could leave the readers feeling overwhelmed, and might encourage them to drop off the page.
As an editor, this is where you circle back to your target audience.
If most of your readers are newcomers to the field of mental health who are looking for advice, you might want to leave out the technical and academic language.
So your feedback should let the writer understand this necessary pivot. If using those terms is essential for the content to make sense, you can suggest using relatable imagery to explain the meaning of those terms before they are introduced in the piece.
In this step, you should also check the sources and statistics that were used in the piece. Ask yourself:
- Are these data points adding value to the piece?
- Are they relevant to the argument?
- And more importantly, are they from a reliable source and up to date?
While going through this micro-editing process, don’t forget to check yourself for personal biases and preferences along the way.
Stage 3:
Proofreading: Time to be Picky
Lastly, we’re at the part that's a favorite of every editor.
Proofreading is easily the most recognizable part of the editing process. If you’re a grammar nazi who enjoys correcting people’s grammar, rephrasing sentences, and checking for spelling, then this is your time to shine.
Proofreading is all about the details. That one comma or verb can change the meaning of the entire sentence.
For example, distinguishing between affect and effect, or its and it's.
This is where you highlight overused words, question the use of that one semicolon, and point out sentences with incorrect structure.
Take your time, proofreading is best done slowly. Read your piece out loud. Hearing a sentence or argument adds perspective and allows you to truly gauge the message.
Some extra tips for proofreading include focusing on types of errors, choosing a time you’re most alert, and re-reading the piece in intervals. When we spend a lot of time on one piece in one sitting, it's easy to overlook minor flaws.
If you notice patterns in errors or sentence types, make a note of those. Why does that sentence sound awkward? Why don’t you add a comma there?
Does it change the meaning of the sentence?
Over time, these notes will help you identify such mistakes relatively quickly.
Just for reference, it used to take me 3–4 hours to proofread a 2000-word blog, and now it takes me roughly 35–40 minutes.
Similar to the journey of a content writer, transitioning into an editor is a process of trial and error.
While your experience as a writer plays a supporting role in your journey, you’ll have to experiment and learn from other editors in the content space. And most importantly, you’ll have to fine-tune the delivery of your feedback.
At the end of the day, the delivery of your feedback is the most important aspect of your workflow. You should be able to communicate exactly what you require the writer to do and convey it in a way that leaves no room for speculation.
Speaking from personal experience, it’s always best to deliver feedback in very functional language. The use of rhetoric and technical jargon might make you sound smart as an editor, but it will only confuse the writer about what they need to accomplish.
Some editors prefer leaving an abundance of comments on the document, while others prefer providing ongoing verbal guidance.
But at the end of the day, you’ll have to find out which method of communication works best for you.
So now that you have this guide to fall back on, let’s start climbing up the ladder of content marketing and start editing effectively.
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I hope you enjoyed this piece; I hope to see you in the next one!
