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of writing. There are a number of books and web sites packed with hints and tips. Those which give you before-and-after examples are always the best.

Third, write a first draft. Print it out and read it as written words. Compare it to the work you've been reading. You may, depending on what it is, want to set it aside for a couple of hours, a week, or even a month, and then come back to it. Think about what you've written as objectively as you can. Everything that jars you, will jar your reader too.

Ask a couple of friends to read your work. If they are writers with some experience, they will almost certainly comment on your writing and give you some advice.

If they are not writers, listen to their comments very carefully.

If they comment on your writing, you probably have to rewrite. Your writing is getting in the way of your message.

If they comment on what you're saying, your message is getting through.

If your piece makes them laugh, or cry, or angry, you're ready to submit for publication.

Once you're ready to submit, take time to check your work very carefully so that you present it professionally as well. Run it through the spell checker and pick up all the obvious errors. Then, run it through the grammar checker. Most grammar checkers are awful and you should read their comments very carefully before accepting any of their recommendations. However, they do alert you to things like missing words, too many passives, and subject/verb mismatches.

I always check the reading ease score. I aim for a reading level of about grade 7, and a reading ease of 70%.

Once you have checked your work electronically, print it and read it aloud, very slowly. This should alert you to anything that the mechanical checking may have missed.

Then submit your work to your chosen publisher. You've done a professional job and you're ready to reap the rewards.

(This article took me 59 minutes to write and check. Anyone with a grade 7.5 education should be able to understand it, and the reading ease score is 74.7%)

Learn more about this author, Janet Pieterse.
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