How to edit a story

I edit a lot of copy.

I work with writers and brand journalism teams across the country, and I consider myself lucky to edit many of their stories, from news and features to profiles and opinion.

I say lucky because editing is one of those tasks that can bring instant gratification to both writers and editors. When a good story emerges from a not-quite-there draft, you can feel it.

Just to be clear: I’m not talking about copyediting – the important and necessary task of preparing a story for publication by checking grammar, spelling and stylistic matters.

Being an editor requires an additional set of tools, a combo of instinct, mechanics and imagination that helps writers get the most out of their stories. Here are five techniques I use.

1. Read it once, all the way through.

Many editors—including me—can’t stop themselves. We see problems and just want to start hacking away.

Don’t do it. Sure, make a few tweaks and copyediting fixes as you go, but don’t start moving stuff around and rewriting sentences before you’ve read the story.