There’s a famous saying that writing is rewriting. Rarely if ever does someone have a first draft go straight to the press.

When you are writing your communications, cut yourself some slack and don’t be critical of any character, word or phrase you put down on the page. Write it all out and hold back from rereading or changing words here and there. After all, you wouldn’t pour some milk and then stop to pour it back in the carton to start again, just because you got a drip on the glass, would you?

Once you think you’ve gotten it all on the page, give yourself some time before you read it over. Grab a coffee or, if possible, look at it the next morning. The rewriting isn’t an editing for typos and grammar. It’s to make sure you’re communicating what you promised. Do the paragraphs lead the reader to the discovery of what your title states? Does it jump to the end too fast? Does it stray from the topic and never come back? Does it need to (perhaps your title is off base)?

You may go through two or three rewrites, depending on the piece you are writing. Once you are happy with what’s being said, you are ready for proofreading.