An introduction to editing for non-editors (Part 1) – content editing

In an ideal world, we’d all work in proposal shops with dedicated proposal writers and editors. The proposal writers would interview SMEs to craft compelling, clean text, and the editor would not only fix grammar mistakes, but also re-write as needed for one voice, clarity, and impact.

Unfortunately, many of us work in proposal shops without these resources. In these cases, project staff write proposals in their spare time, and the proposal manager is often responsible for managing the proposal, re-writing text as needed, and editing the document before submission.

Teaching regular contributors how to edit their own work will improve their writing skills over time and reduce the amount of re-work required by the proposal manager. A proposal manager should introduce the concept of self-editing work at the proposal kick-off meeting and share this article to jump-start the process. If you’re a proposal manager tasked with editing, you might even use this article yourself.

Types of editing

There are two basic types of editing: content editing and copy editing. Content editing, also referred to as substantive editing or development editing, involves big-picture writing concerns such as organization, paragraph length, consistency, and tone. Essentially, a good content editor makes writing flow.

Copy editing looks at the grammatical details of written text, correcting errors and improving word usage and sentence structure. Both kinds of editing are important, but content editing must happen first. There’s no point in tweaking wording to perfectly transition from one sentence to the next if a content editor is going to delete one of those sentences or move them into different paragraphs.

In this article, I’ll explore content editing in detail, but be on the lookout for part 2 in the series, which will focus on copy editing.

Content editing

Content editing your own writing is difficult. You know what you’re trying to say, so you read your text exactly as you intended—the organization makes sense, the tone is perfect, and you don’t see any gaps or missing information. The only way to get around this is to review your writing with fresh eyes after enough time has passed that you’ve basically forgotten what you wrote. Unfortunately, we almost never have time for this approach in proposals. Instead, I recommend that writers swap sections and edit each other’s work prior to a formal color team review. Use the following rubric as a guide for content editing.

What other writing qualities or guiding questions would you include for content editing? Email your thoughts to me at JQuigley@LohfeldConsulting.com, and I’ll include them in part two of this series.

With a Master’s in Rhetoric and Composition, Julia Quigley has created proposal writing strategies and conducted training to help subject matter experts understand how to respond clearly and compellingly to solicitation requirements. Prior to joining Lohfeld Consulting Group, Julia managed proposals for small and mid-sized federal contractors and taught persuasive writing classes at Texas State University. She applies the lessons she taught as well as lessons learned to all her proposal and training projects.