This Trick Will Improve Your Writing Quality Instantly
It feels crazy to say this, but I just printed the first copy of my first book, Magnetic Writing!
It’s eighteen months in the making. As you might imagine, I felt pretty buzzed when I left the printing shop. I messaged my friends and family to say the book was done and ready to send to an editor. I grabbed a coffee to celebrate, and did what I told myself I would not do:
I began reading it immediately.
It felt strange to see my words on paper. But within one minute, I was itching to grab a red pen and start striking out sentences—even though I had read the introduction probably fifty times on my laptop.
I took a breath and stuffed the book back in its envelope. It’s now buried in my suitcase, with a warning not to open it for one more week.
To explain why, let me share an excerpt from the book:
Editing is not just making a piece presentable. It is the process of critical thinking.
You decide what is worth saying and what is not, what is unclear and what needs exploring more. This won’t just make you better to read, it will improve your taste, judgement, and understanding. This is a service to yourself as much as the reader.
Your most powerful editing tool is time.
Time spent editing, yes, but also time between drafts. The more distance you create from your work, the easier it is to read in someone else’s eyes. This is why Stephen King waits at least 6 weeks between drafts. Of course, you don't have that luxury. But even a day, a couple of hours, or a quick lap around the block can help.
One of my favourite editing tricks is to ‘change the screen, change the state’. Writing on the computer and editing on your phone can make a massive difference in quality. Writing at the desk and editing while on a walk can have a similar effect. A new environment will give you a new perspective, and with this, more potential to say something more profound.
The plan is a final (final) edit. But this time with pen and paper. I’ll be doing it by the coast in Kenya and in coffee shops in Madrid. So safe to say that’s a few new environments!
Part of me wonders if this is my perfectionist streak kicking in, or if obsessing over the final 1% is the work that sets a book apart.
… It’s likely a bit of both.
Regardless, I'm grateful to share the journey with you, and once the book is with an editor, I’ll write more on what I've learned from the process.
In the meantime, you can join 1000+ people on the waitlist here:
To your freedom,
Kieran
So here’s another lesson from the book:
The more timeless a piece, the more time you spend on it. The more important it is, the more you push for quality.
This is why I don’t spend too much time editing my social media content.
Timelines are great to keep in contact with your audience, but terrible for building real relationships. As you build your business, you must create assets that focus on depth. Newsletters, essays, guides, books. This is the work that few people do, which means there is much less competition.
I speak a lot more about this in the book. Hop on the waitlist here.
About Kieran
Ex dentist, current writer, future Onlyfans star · Sharing what I learn about writing well, thinking clearly, and building an online business