From the desk of Victor Pride
Subj: From good work to great art
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I recently received this question from a reader of B&D;:
You’ve mentioned before how editing is where the magic happens, so how do you edit and how did you learn to edit?
Have you ever had a conversation and 5 minutes later you thought to yourself, “that's what I should have said!”
Then you thought about what you should have said all night. You planned out the entire conversation in your head the way you think it should have went instead of the way it actually went.
When you speak in the moment you often forget many things. Then you think about it later and remember all of those little details that would have made what you said more powerful.
If only you could have said all of those wonderful things at the exact right moment.
Unfortunately, when you have a conversation you cannot go back in time to say all the things you wish you had said.
But in the world of writing, you can…
Just because the majority of writing is done on day one, it does not mean that your work needs to also be published on day one.
The writing can be done on day one, the publishing can be done any single day you desire (day 2, day 3, day 4 etc.).
In between the writing and the publishing, you have as much time or as little time as you need to edit the piece of writing and make it perfect.
Many blog artists are simply impatient. They write their article and then they publish it the very same day, even the same hour as finishing the writing.
They write in the moment and they lose the chance to say all of the things they should have said.
They get so fired up to publish their article that their excitement makes them hit the publish button before the blog article is perfect. This is laziness!
I do the opposite.
I wait for all of the things I should have said to come to me, then I add them to the article.
If it takes 2 days, then it takes 2 days. If it takes 3 weeks, then it takes 3 weeks.
I do NOT publish the same day I write!
(Unless I'm writing a blog article each day.)
I only publish when I have adequately layered the piece.
It is only when I've said all the things I needed to say that I publish.
When you write an energetic article that fires you up it is very tempting to hit the publish button right away.
You must learn patience and you must not hit the publish button no matter how much you feel like you want to.
There is always something more to say, there is always something just a little bit deeper that needs to be added.
And that is what is missing when you publish right away - DEPTH.
There can be no depth if you simply write and then publish immediately. There is no way to layer your work if all you do is write, publish, repeat.
The depth comes from writing, then going for a drive, going to the gym, shopping for groceries at the local supermarket, and it is at these times that it hits you…
“That's what I should have said!”
Then you can go back into the piece and layer it before you publish it.
It is these small layers that give normal, mediocre blog articles the depth that takes them from ordinary to extraordinary.
It is only through the power of editing that you work can be presented in it's best form.
The Mona Lisa wasn't painted in a day, Michelangelo's David wasn't carved in a day, and Bold & Determined wasn't written in a day.
Is your great work going to be produced in a single day?
Editing tips to remember:
- It is not possible to adequately write, edit, and publish all in the same day
- A minimum of 24 hours is needed between writing and publishing, this gives you time to think of all the “aha” moments that need to be included
- New blog artists should not worry about editing, they should follow this formula: write, publish, repeat
- Blog artists who have been in the game longer than a year need to follow this formula: write, edit, publish, promote, repeat
- You should spend as much time editing as you spend writing (or even more time editing)
- Anybody can write, nobody has the patience to edit. This is what separates the mediocre from the professional
- PATIENCE is the name of the game
How do you learn to edit?
You learn to edit same way you learn to do anything…
You learn by doing.
Little by little, you go back in to your art and you layer it, piece by piece and brick by brick, until you have built a foundation that cannot be cracked.
When your work is unbreakable, then you can present it to the world.
The longer you spend practicing, the better you get.
Remember…
It isn't possible to do something long enough and not get good at it.
Usually you get good at it pretty quickly, if you stick with it.
Until next time.
Your man,
-Victor Pride
The youtube videos I watch are the ones that are edited the best. Doesn’t matter how good the content is - if the editing is rushed the whole project looks like shit.
I agree Blayde. A friend of mine recently showed me a video of Pewdiepie. While he isn’t that funny, his editing makes his video’s great.
Preach!
Vic, why new artists should write and publish without editing?
To gain experience writing.
Great advice, Vic. I’m definitely guilty of blasting them out, and then immediately going back to correct what could be improved upon.
Editing is my favorite part of creating an article. The writing aspect is fun but I get a rush out of crafting the article into something more.
Great article. I’ve found that I can write more and write better if I knock out a rough draft as fast as it comes to mind, eating dinner, going to the gym, sleeping, working on something else, and then coming back and editing.
Writing always came naturally to me and my teachers always admired it but I never cared about writing.
But Victor’s style is great.
Great article. When I look at some of new content, where I spent countless hours editing, and compare it to some of my old content, where I’d publish an article the same day I wrote it, the difference is incredible. My old articles look like they were written by a 5th grader. My new articles look like they were written by a retiring journalist.
Editing is the most time consuming part of the writing process, but when it is done and done well, it’s worth all the time and effort.
Grade A content!
Nice advice.
Thanks!
- D
I dig the article a day.
What I learned/appreciate most about B&D:
1. I learned to cook meat from an article that Victor wrote awhile ago. I used to be a vegetarian but started to eat meat once I got the recipe and found (preferably) pasture-raised hamburger.
2. How to write in short, concise paragraphs. They look better online.
3. 30 Days of Discipline. I truthfully never finished. Yet.
4. The many inspirational articles.
Thanks!
Very helpful article, Vic.
What are your thoughts on publishing then updating the content later?
Should new blog artists hold themselves accountable to publishing on a due date so that they’re not procrastinating or should they take as much time to polish? Or is it a mix of both?
Spot on Vic.
Editing is what makes or breaks your content. I always compare it to videos on YouTube as I am in the YouTube business a lot.
How stupid are those videos that are badly edited, or worse, not edited at all? You know the guys who don’t even edit out them just positioning the camera and setting up the shot.
That’s exactly how your articles are when you don’t edit them.
Now let’s compare that to the videos that are actually worth watching, the videos that inspire you and make you think “damn, this is amazing content!”.
These videos are the ones which are edited for hours upon hours on end.
It doesn’t matter if you have a nice story, amazing advice, a cool place, awesome gear to shoot, as long as your edit sucks, your content will as well.
The edit is where the magic happens. Listen to Victor guys.
The writing can often be done in a day if you are inspired and in the moment and the words just fly on the page. But the editing can take me several times longer, revisiting the written word again and again until it is perfect and just clicks.
As Victor says, these aha-moments often happen when you least expect them.
For me it’s when I walk my dog, connect with nature and reach a flow state, that’s when I can really paint a picture in my mind of the vision I have for the art piece.
“It isn’t possible to do something long enough and not get good at it”
Amazing advice.
Genius. Very true. Many times I come back the next day and think to myself “that line sucks why did you publish that?”
Patience is a virtue.
There is a very good reason one of the first stories we ever learn is “the tortoise and the hare”
The slow turtle is the winner. The one who takes his time and does it right. Very powerful lesson. Maybe the most important one.