I love to write, telling my stories and sharing information. Unfortunately, in my excitement to get my words in front of readers, I can sometimes be a bit too quick with the Send or Publish buttons, missing errors, omissions, or the occasional (*gasp*) incomplete sentence. Other times deadlines bare down on me and, while I always try to submit my best work, I might not be as diligent about certain editing and rewriting practices as I should be.

To help me make sure I’m putting my best work forward, I’ve come up with a checklist of sorts. It’s a list of questions that prompt me to really think about and revisit my writing from a variety of angles. I’m sharing it here so that, hopefully, when we finally click that Publish (or Send or Submit) button, we’ll be sending our best work out into the world.

1. Did I use spell-check?

Using spell-check seems like a simple thing, but having those automatic red lines appear in some programs, underlining my misspellings, has made me lazy when it comes to spell-checking in programs where those automatic red lines don’t appear. This has led to a few errors slipping through in submissions and professional emails. And misspellings make a very bad impression when they’re coming from a writer who should know better–or at least know how to click that spell-check button. So do yourself a favor and get in the habit of spell-checking every document, every time. A few extra second before hitting the Publish button could save you time, money and embarrassment with editors and customers.

2. Did I read the post from beginning to end and make edits for clarity and meaning?

I edit like mad as I’m writing a post, which often gives me the false sense of security that by the time I get to that last sentence the beginning of the piece is already perfect. I still force myself to go back to the beginning and read through each sentence and paragraph, usually out loud, to make sure I haven’t missed any egregious errors or omissions.

3. What am I trying to say here?

Sometimes, when I do that read-through and ask myself this question, I realize I’m not really sure what my point is or where my story is headed. Understanding what I’m trying to say allows me to make sure I’m getting my point across to my readers.

4. Did I get my message across?

If my point isn’t coming across the way I would have liked it to, asking this question in the wake of the previous one helps me refocus whatever it is I’m working on. By reminding myself what my point was meant to be, I can make sure that each sentence, each word supports my point or moves my story forward.

5. Who will be reading this?

If it weren’t for an audience, I’m not sure I would write. Sure, I love writing for the sake of writing, but when it comes down to it, I like connecting with people through my words even more. Being conscious of who will be reading my words allows me to make sure I’m writing for them, as well as for myself.

6. Am I connecting with my audience?

Once I know for whom I’m writing, the next step is to make sure what I’m writing is reaching my readers. When I have a lot of information to get across, reminding myself of my audience ensures that I use a voice and style that will make the story more human and universal. Remembering my readers allows me to make sure I’m truly speaking to whomever I believe my audience will be and not just spewing facts and figures or bullet points.

7. Would my mom/dad/child/husband/boss/coworkers be upset if they read this?

While I don’t recommend censoring yourself for the sake of censorship, remember that, especially where the internet is concerned, words have a way of spreading. When I reread my work, I ask myself if anything I’ve writing will be harmful to others. I’m not talking about offending others, because sometimes your opinions, views or experiences are going to be offensive to someone. But telling stories or writing about experiences that could hurt feelings, expose secrets or violate policies within your company isn’t a smart way to build your readership. Think twice about publishing anything that could get you fired or disinherited.

8. Am I providing value to my readers?

I like to write about some pretty mundane topics sometimes, but I try to remember that my readers want to get something for their time and effort. Sure, that story about my ingrown toenail seemed funny, but what will it do for my readers? The value may be as simple as a good laugh, or it might include instruction, information or inspiration. As long as I can honestly believe my readers will leave my writing a little better off, the piece is fair game.

9. Did I read the post through and edit (again)?

Even when I think I’m ready to click Publish, if I read through my writing again I often find several places where I can tighten up a phrase, modify a sentence for clarity or correct an overlooked spelling error (that spell-check didn’t catch), like “there” instead of “their”.

10. Did I save a back-up copy as a Word file or other document?

After losing several posts because of a faulty internet connection, failure of an auto save function, or simple user error, I’ve gotten in the habit of always saving a back-up copy of whatever I’m working on. For my blog, the last thing I do before hitting publish is copy my work, paste it into a Word document (or other word processing or text document) and save it to my computer. For emails, I make sure to save a draft or use an email program that saves a copy of all sent mail. If it’s a query letter or submission I’m sending, I save a copy of the file on a USB drive or backup hard drive. That way, if my blog get’s hijacked, my computer crashes or some other unexpected failure occurs, I always have a copy somewhere else.

What strategies do you use to make sure your work is top-notch before you click Publish?