Editing

A man purchases basil, cream, salt, spices, spaghetti and broccoli; he later mixes them all in the correct proportion and makes a bowl full of pesto pasta. The separate ingredients are the various methods of writing using flowery or minimalistic words. But all of it is only utilitarian id it is presented as a pasta bowl. The latter is what editing means. It is the essence of writing. The institutions that exist today, the fourth pillar of democracy that stands tall today, are all the result of good editing. Editing is the process of compiling, polishing and revising the raw content into a correct and accurate edition of publication or broadcast.

Editing is used for a variety of functions and reasons. A lot of media houses rely on editing for improving the content. Media editors use expensive and efficient softwares to edit movies, series and news reels. However, editing is a vital step before publishing the written content online or offline. It is used to showcase the final product which is appealing to the audience.

While, editing might come across as a heavy word which has a lot of technical connotations attached to it, for the written work and content it is quite simply done by either using simple softwares or by the editor him/herself. One needs to be fluent with the language but moreover be absorbed by the idea that the given content intends to convey.

There are different phases for editing which are often helpful to the author or a publisher to create a formal structure and go about the job in a particular order.

1. Developmental phase is when the idea needs to be evolved and structured.
2. Evaluative phase is when the editor will paraphrase his/her ideas in a memo for a given piece of work.
3. Content phase is concerned with the intricacies of writing.
4. Line phase includes the editor providing a line-by-line evaluation. This is one of the most detailed types of editing.
5. Lastly, a copy phase is concerned with the final product and goes after correcting grammar and spelling errors within the content.

Proofreading is another important step in the process. The manuscript or the rough draft submitted to the editor is proofread multiple times in order to be sure about the content presented.

Editing is the ability to see the bigger picture, the final product. It is examining the usage of correct words, metaphors, idioms and all the figures of speech at the correct time. It has the capability to transform the destiny of the content that is published. It has the power and ability to make people stay awake about the nuances of everyday life. It is much more than delivering a final product; it is about boosting the writer’s imagination into something that is relatable to the mass. It also encompasses formatting, structuring, proofreading, rephrasing, paraphrasing, rewriting, analysing and compiling the information or the creative pieces with accuracy.