A guest post by Deborah Lyn Stanley
Why own a website?
Do you have products or services to promote?
Or, is it a vehicle for publishing your essays, stories, and articles?
We own and maintain websites to communicate our message to customers, clients and readers—consistently.
Our goal then, is to write with clarity, and focused content.
To achieve this, we must become self-editors and practice those skills.
Self-editing is tricky because we are accustomed to the way we put words together in a sentence, our style.
Our message is too familiar to us.
We know what we want to convey, and yet we surprise ourselves at times with wonky writing.
The point is to catch and correct before we release our message to others.
I have writers’ self-editing tips and resources to offer you:
• If you have a writing partner who edits your writing, even your posts, nurture the
• Self-editing and reviewing with your writing partner saves time and money when you ultimately hire a professional editor.
There are several online self-editing tools available.
My favorite go-to editing tool is ProWritingAid.
The free version is quite thorough, but a premium version is also available.
• Most programs use a copy and paste method for uploading your writing, then click to run an analysis, review the comments and choose how you wish to tackle each one.
Here are several sWriters’ Self-editing tips to check out:
ProWriting Aid: https://prowritingaid.com/
Page Rater is my second online editing tool: https://www.paperrater.com/free_paper_grader
Hemmingway is good for style: http://www.hemingwayapp.com/
Smart Edit is worth checking out: http://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/smart-edit-software-video-tutorial/
Grammarly is another option: https://www.grammarly.com/1
If you use Microsoft Word, a choice for extensive grammar checking is available via options – proofing – writing style.
Choose grammar & style, and click settings according to your watch-areas from the pull down menu.
To encourage your readers to follow your site:
Use visuals: many sites such as Pinterest are photograph-driven.
Add links to your Facebook, Google+, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, etc., pages with a brief intro.
Always include subject tags, labels, or categories for easy searching on your site and for search engines (SEO), such as, Google.
E-Newsletters and regular posts are an excellent way to promote your work and to recommend the work of others; an important part of book marketing.
I appreciate your feedback. Please comment below. Thank you much! Deborah
About Deborah Lyn Stanley
Deborah Lyn Stanley is a writer, artist, and editor.
She is a retired project manager who now devotes her time to writing, art and caring for mentally impaired seniors.
Deborah writes articles, essays and stories. Visit her blog MyWriter’s Life.
Facebook at: Deborah Lyn Stanley https://www.facebook.com/deborah.stanley.393
Great tips, Deborah. I’ve used the Hemingway app and love it. I have to try the others you suggest. Thanks for sharing.