I received an e-mail recently from someone who promotes Writer's Digest "tutorials."  I think they're videotaped presentations pertaining to various things you can do to make yourself a "better writer."  In this particular tutorial, the topic was how to become a "ferocious" self-editor.  Here's how the thing started out.

WD Says: "Editing our own writing isn't always easy; in fact, it can be extremely hard.  However, after working on this week's new tutorial—I can honestly tell you that I have a new inspiration for editing. I love this week's featured tutorial as it provides concrete, easy-to-follow methods that are sure to improve your writing."

Problem/Solution 1: The writer uses "this week's …tutorial" in two successive sentences.  Don't do that!  Problem/Solution 2: The writer uses a dash instead of a comma to set off a simple introductory adverbial phrase.  Don't do that!

WD Says: "It's critical that your writing is the best it can be before you submit to any editor or agent. After watching to How to Become a Ferocious Self-Editor, you will have countless ideas on how to better your own writing."

Problem/Solution 1: The writer fails to discern between "…submit to any editor or agent" and what should have been written, which is "…submit it to any editor or agent."  The two do not have identical meanings, if you get the sting of my whip.  Problem/Solution 2: "After watching to How to Become a Ferocious Self-Editor" has, of course, an extraneous "to" as the third word, and the "to" in the title should be capitalized, as it is not a preposition but an infinitive; and the "t" in "to" is always capitalized when it's part of an infinitive phrase.

WD Says: "Example: He squinted his eyes as he looked up into the sky. 

"Ask yourself: What can be taken out of this sentence? 

"Answer: First, what else but his eyes would he squint? Second, we all know the sky is up, why state that? 

Quick re-write: He squinted as he looked into the sky."

Problem/Solution: Still awkward and wordy.  A much stronger edit would be, "He looked up and squinted."  Game, set, match!

Now, I know everyone has bad days.  But whoever wrote this (and let's hope it wasn't the person actually teaching the tutorial!) should have stayed in bed another couple of weeks.  It's one thing to make mistakes in your writing, even when you're writing about correcting the mistakes in your writing.  It's something totally different to make mistakes in a promotional piece advocating that people pay money (oh, did I forget to mention that part of  it?)--and a good chunk of change, at that--and literally take their chances.  How sad.

Unfortunately, the world is filled with bad writing.  It's also pretty jam-packed with mediocre writing.  I see writers creating work that constantly falls short of the mark, only because they failed to be their own toughest editors.  Perhaps that's because they think everything they write is perfect.  Perhaps they don't know how a good writer's work should sound.  Perhaps they simply don't know enough about editing to be a tough self-editor.

Whatever the reason, these writers are destined to fail.  Their work will never be published because it will never be good enough.  Oh, sure, they can hire a professional editor to help them prepare their manuscript for shopping around; and you would be surprised at how many writers do just that.  But they are the fortunate ones--first, to have enough funds to indulge in what many writers might consider a luxury; second, to have found an editor of high enough caliber to help them get their works into print.

I'm all for writers learning to write well by learning to edit other writers' works.  That's where a stint in journalism school or a good series of writer's workshops or even jobs as reporters, editors, and proofreaders for the local newspaper come in handy.  If your writing needs some serious editing and you're not up to the task--and, worse, you can't afford someone who is--you're going to have to learn to be a better writer.  One way or another.

Remember what playwright and poet Richard Sheridan once wrote:

You write with ease to show your breeding,

But easy writing's vile hard reading.

So, unless you learn to kick the "easy writing" habit out of your life once and for all, you're going to have to get used to failure.

In the meantime...

Smoke if you got 'em.

NOTE: All material on this site is copyright protected.  No portion of this material may be copied or reproduced, either electronically,  mechanically, or by any other means, for resale or distribution without the written consent of the author.  All copy has been dated and registered with the American Society of Authors and Writers.  Copyright 2012 by the American Society of Authors and Writers.