5 Things You Should Do BEFORE You Hit “Publish”
Howdy, Bubba! Hey, if you're new around these parts, I just want to say how much I appreciate you dropping by! Oh, and you may want to subscribe to my feed. Thanks, and a tip o' the hat to ya!
Note: This is my contribution to Brad Shorr’s cartoon-inspired contest. Check it out; there may still be time to enter and win an Ipod Nano!
Saying what you mean ain’t that easy, is it? (C’mon now, nod your heads and say it with me: “Uh-huh” Great! Isn’t it just peachy when we all get along like that?)
Anyway, you may remember a couple of weeks ago when I wrote about that airline pilot’s rather “exciting” day? Do you remember that “point of no return”? That’s the critical spot where the pilot can no longer stop the plane before running out of runway; you pretty much have to take off once you cross that line.
Well, there’s something like that for bloggers, too. It’s called the PUBLISH button.
I don’t know how many times it’s happened to you, but as for me - well, examples are legion. Here’s just two of them…
- A while back, when I was just getting to know Liz Strauss and her amazing community, I tuned into one of her Open Mic Nights. We were in the midst of my Let’s Be Brief contest last January, and in my enthusiasm, in a comment that night I posted an invitation for everyone to “come on over” and participate. Y’know, Liz is such a gracious woman! (Thank goodness!) A little while later she sent me a private email and asked me - did I, er, mean to ask people to “leave her site and go to mine”? Boy, you could have knocked me over with a feather (sound of… well, you know)! Although it was the farthest thing from my mind, when I went back and read what I had actually written - well, that’s exactly what I had done! (Open mouth; insert foot up to knee; chew vigorously.) Sure wish there’d been a way to rewind that one! (Luckily, all’s well now and we’re still friends… er, right Liz?)
- One thing that really chaps my hide is bad speeling! Oh, sure; I’ve been guilty of it myself from time to time, but that just makes it even more aggravating! How many times have I written a comment, pushed PUBLISH, only to read it one last time and discover I misspelled something, or left out a word, or - something. Arrgh! Spit! (Sound of hitting head on desk, repeatedly.) That’s why I’m so pleased to see a new WordPress Plugin giving commenters the ability to edit their words for a short period of time! I’m tellin’ ya, this has got to be the greatest thing since cheeseburgers in a can! No matter how many times you read and re-read your comment before pushing that fateful button, it always seems to read differently once posted, doesn’t it? Man, I got to get me one of these! Now if I could *sigh* just get one for, er, real life.
The list goes on and on… unfortunately. But take heart, my friends! There are a few things you can do to help combat that pesky point-of-no-return known as the PUBLISH button (sound of audience sighing in relief).
Y’know; looking over this brief list, I would consider most of these points “no-brainers” (but then I’d be, um, admitting to something I’d rather not). So without further ado, may I present -
5 things you should do BEFORE you hit “publish”:
- Know your message - It never hurts to start with this one. Don’t worry about the words you’ll use yet, just consider what it is you’re attempting to impart to the reader. Think of this as the template for your message.
- Know your audience - Consider, for instance, any cultural clues you might need, as well as other things that affect how people read your words. In our modern-day “mixing pot” cultures, you must consider where your audience is “coming from”, so to speak. Otherwise, they might miss the message, like the folks in that cartoon up there.
- Step away - Sometimes, when the writing gets hot and heavy (like, trying to meet a deadline, or in the midst of inspiration), your brain starts outrunning your fingers by a wide margin. See, what happens is, you could swear you wrote down what you’re thinking in your head, but unfortunately - you didn’t. So in your memory it’s perfect, right? So why go back to check?
- Hear it out loud - Here’s one piece of advice I keep hearing from just about everybody. Try reading it out loud and see if something “bumps” the smooth flow of words. Believe me, it’ll stick out like a sore thumb. I’d go so far as to say this is pretty much an essential technique for good copy.
- Read - and re-read it! - Y’know; I keep hoping I’ll get better over time on this one *sigh*. Alas, it never fails; no matter how short, simple and sweet it is, when I read it back I’ll invariably find a spelling mistake (I blame the keyboard) or a grammatical error (I blame… never mind), or something that looks out of place, like a missing word - or an entire sentence! There is just no substitute for this one, folks.
I deliberately left this list unfinished so you could add your own favorite tip, so I know this will be something of a loaded question: What one or two things would YOU add to this list?
Believe it or not, an excellent example of that last one is right here on the Zone! It’s in, of all things, my ebook, Poke it With a Sharp Stick. It’s essentially a compendium of six of my favorite early stories from right here in the Middle Zone. Basically I just cut and pasted them into a single document with a little additional info added. Oh, there was a little editing to make things “come out right”, spacing-wise, but otherwise they’re pretty much as I originally wrote them.
So I get the book all put together nice and neat, pop it into .pdf format, and publish it to the world. Apparently, it’s been pretty well received (I’ll use my Elvis voice here: thank you - thank you very much) because to date it’s been downloaded - let’s see - 1,208 times from my site (plus several hundred times from my friend Tully’s site).
Now before I put this thing “out there”, you better believe I read, re-read, re-re-read, and - well, you get the picture, right? I must have re-read it at least 20-25 times. So naturally, it’s as perfect as a book can be.
Well… er, just the other day, I happened to open it up again for the first time in I don’t know how long, and right there, big as day, I found an entire sentence missing! (Where is it, you ask? Well, I’ll tell ya what - download it and see if you can find it.)
It just goes to show ya, you can’t bee two carful, now, can ya? Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!
You know, it would just be absolutely finer than a frogs hair if you would subscribe to my RSS feed!
29 responses so far
Middle Zone Musings is a comfortable place to stop, have a cup of coffee, swap a few stories and share practical ideas for the real world. I don't ask for much, just a bit of your brain every now and then. Have a seat, take a load off, and relax...
I think we’ve all been there Robert…
Stepping away is a good one, esp if you’re aware you’re writing at a time of strong emotion (fired up, angry, sad) or very tired. I start to type the weirdest things when my mind gets tired and you’ll only notice them the next day when you come back to it.
The other one I guess is to ask someone else to have a look. This won’t always be possible but it’s a good idea for something new, different, important to you. They’ll see things you can’t see because you’re too close to it, and will be able to tell you if you they ‘get’ what you mean or not (politely you hope, if you chose your readers wisely!)
Joanna
Hi Robert, I can sure relate to your topic. I’m forever guilty of the “ready, fire, aim” method of publishing. Fortunately it’s easier to correct errors on a Web page than on a billboard at a gas station. Thanks for joining the fun in my contest - good luck!
Hi Joanna! Yep; if you’re a writer, then you’ve surely been there! The one that’s hardest for me is the “Step Away” technique. But when I get in a hurry - it’s like a little red flag waving; I know if I don’t, I’ll regret it!
The one you added is a good one, but do you find it difficult to “give” your work to someone else for feedback? I do. Putting my words out there for all the world to see is actually pretty easy (now!) But when I say, “Tell me what you think,” I find myself a bit shaky inside; it’s a risky thing. I admit I have trouble doing that. (Do you experience that?)
On the other hand, when it’s work-related and a team effort, I have no problem asking for feedback.
Brad, I’m just glad I finally got my Muse awake enough to help! I’ve been staring at that cartoon for days!
Robert, yes I know what you mean, though I can’t immediately put my finger on what the difference is, and why we should feel vulnerable sharing our words with one person and not with the entire world!
Maybe it’s because there’s an acknowledgment that we’re not too sure about something, and that’s why we’re asking for help.
Maybe it’s just the act of asking for help.
The trick is to ask someone you know you can trust, whose opinion you value, who won’t betray your confidence… you know the kind of people I mean
Joanna
It’s a bit distressing to see an inbound link on ones own WP dashboard from a post titled “5 Things you Should do BEFORE You Hit ‘Publish’”…
Oh, and as far as the spelling bit, it’s spelled C-O-L-O-U-R.
Joanna, I sure do! And when I get that Great American Novel written one day (!), you’ll be one of the first to see it!
Oh, Tully… when are you guys going to finally let that go?
But neighbour, it’s one of our favourite words.. heheheh.
Oh sure, but my particular purpose in life is to teach ever’body to speak Texan. Now that’s a worthy callin’, don’cha think?
C’mon, say it with me now: Hot Diggity Dog!
Bob, it was so much fun to see what you did with Brad’s picture. Each person has taken it in such a different direction!
Though you mention the spell checker earlier, you didn’t put it in your final list. I think it might stand out more.
Ouch, Robyn - good point! Don’t you hate it when those things that “go without saying” are the things that SHOULD have been said?
This really was a fun project! We just might have to do something similar with our project WILF sometime…
Robert,
Great entry! All the points you make are so true!
About the only thing I would add would be to recognize the power of our words…to heal or hurt…to inform or confuse…to inspire or incite…to persuade or alienate…to gladden or anger…and wield that powerful weapon wisely–because the pen is indeed mightier than the sword.
When we write a blog post and hit “Publish,” we can usually go back and revise our words without lasting harm should we discover that we’ve crossed a “line,” provided we remedy it soon enough. But, as you’ve mentioned, that isn’t always so easy with comments.
Jeanne
Jeanne - excellent points!
William,
Thanks so much!
Jeanne
Those ARE great points, Jeanne - thanks! It’s up to us to continually police our words to make sure they’re actually doing what we think they’re doing!
Robert,
Thanks! Just let me say that I truly enjoy commenting on posts which contain real substance, as yours always do!
Jeanne
Aw shucks, Jeanne! Now if’n I kin jest figger out what ah’m doin’ raht!
Robert,
Whatever it is, it obviously jest comes natcherly, so keep raht on doin’ exac’ly wha’chyer doin–cuz yer doin all raht!
Jeanne
Timing is also important I guess. Writing on proper and hot timeframe is very important to have it become popular.
[...] wrote “San Antonio to Houston” instead of as it now reads! Maybe I need to go back and reread this post! Thanks, Larry! - [...]
[...] Bob Hruzek saw a reason to look before you leap. [...]
I really like your tips about reading the article out loud. I find that when I read my articles out loud I hear the sentences that are confusing. It really makes my writing better.
You’re welcome, Mr. (or is it Ms.?) Pens (or should I call you MBFP for short?) Glad to be of service!
[...] Bob Hruzek saw a reason to look before you leap. [...]
excellent and inspiring write Robert, i cam remember when i first started blogging i wrote an article and stumbled it so many people liked it and thumbed up i had over 25k of traffic storm that day but a long with this i got 5 thumbed down just because of a few spell and grammar mistakes then i knew before publishing a post i should be reading it atleast 4 times and rectify whatever its wrong.
MOins last blog post..Track Your Backlinks And Search Engine Index With iTracker
This one always gets me. I can read and re-read and not see a single comment until I post it. The only exception to this one is when I read it aloud to my hubby for suggestions. Then I say, “oh…I left a word out” or “hmmmm….what in the world was I trying to say?” So, I definitely think reading it out loud is good, but then again, different things work for different people.
Do you have a list of things you should do before submitting a comment?
No, oh well. Maybe I should make one up!
That little comment up there that didn’t make sense? It was mine. OF COURSE I don’t see a comment on my post until I post it!!
I meant to say that I don’t see a single “mistake” until I post it! Clear as mud now?
Now hold on just a second while I proof my comment….
Glad you caught that one, Tabetha! My initial response was something along the lines of “too many jokes!” - but you rescued me from my mental gridlock!