on The Write Life:

Editors read for a living. They read all day long.

Some writing lands on their desk in excellent form, but a lot of it requires serious work with the red pen. Generally, editors are happy to help their writers to develop strong narrative arcs, believable characters, and well-organized structures.

The most annoying thing, though, is when their writers fall at the most basic technical writing hurdles. They should not spend their time replacing adverbs with strong verbs or changing from passive to active voice. These changes can and should be completed by the writer when they do their own first edit.

Editors have limited time to spend on your drafts, and that time is expensive. Taking a little time for self-editing can impress your editor and help prove your writing skills.

Here are six common problems to fix before your editor gets out the red pen.

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