Hefty edit requests might seem like a common issue for freelancers, but that doesn’t mean it’s how it should be.
It certainly doesn’t have to be your case.
You can make writing and freelancing enjoyable again by building a writing and submission process that works for you, not against you.
Learn why decreasing feedback makes a difference to your bottom line and the tactics and tools you can use to take back your time.
Why is it taboo to want an easy life?
Society often pressures you to work so hard that you almost burn out to prove your self-worth. But that belief can kill you.
According to a WHO study conducted over two decades, it found that overwork increased stroke risk by 35%, and death from heart disease increased by 17% for participants working 55 or more hours a week.
Overwork is a stressful and anxious lifestyle that isn’t worth your life. It’s not strange or taboo to want a more manageable work environment. It’s healthy. Balance is essential for diet, exercise, and relationships, so why isn’t it the norm for how you work?
By optimizing your process, like any good businessperson, you can live a professional and personal life that you enjoy. Often, choosing a freelance life that fits for you starts by ignoring what others think you should do and knowing what you want.
I think of the folktale of the fisherman:
A wealthy businessman sees a fisherman relaxing on the shore.
He suggests the fisherman expand his business, buy more boats, and grow his operation until he can retire and enjoy fishing.
The fisherman replies, 'What do you think I’m doing now?'
The fisherman didn’t have to work harder or spend years to enjoy what he loved most. He had the wisdom and foresight to understand that he already had the life he wanted.
That’s why the more you work on the life you want now, the closer you get to living an easier, less stressful work experience. This kind of life can only happen when you control the reins for your time, starting with edit requests.
Why does minimal feedback matter?
Too much feedback can drain your income, waste your time, and sap your energy as a writer.
Your time should be spent researching, writing fantastic work, and editing your content before submission. You shouldn’t spend the same amount of time fulfilling edits post-submission.
Excessive feedback is a sign that something’s gone wrong. It produces the following issues:
- Time drain: You spend more time on the piece. If you’re working per project or on a retainer, you lose money for every minute you work in the feedback cycle. Plus, it decreases the time you could use to make more money on other projects.
- Process efficiency: If you have to spend more time stuck on a piece, it takes away from your current production. For example, I recently had a client wanting to revisit work that had already gone through the revision stage. That stopped production entirely. Even if I’m compensated for it, it slows down momentum and the chance to work on my projects.
- Uncertainty for project length: You could get unexpected top-level feedback that may take much longer to fix and complete your delivery. That’s why it’s essential to define the piece within your brief, budget for feedback rounds, and minimize how much feedback the pieces need.
- Imposter syndrome and discouragement: I rarely smile when I get edit requests. But it’s part of the process and super valuable (I love feedback after addressing it). So, getting more feedback than you expected can make you feel like you didn’t do a good job or that you aren’t clicking with the client. But like any good relationship, it takes work, and the important thing is how fast you can learn, adjust, and create an improved feedback environment.
Considering these challenges, the minute you can improve your feedback process, the more money you can make, and the more time you can spend on what matters most.
6 Best writing practices for minimal edit requests
Below are action steps that you can take for fewer editor suggestions and improved deliveries:
1. Understand that you are an editor
You are the primary editor—the first line of defense.
Everything you miss will be another minute you must spend addressing feedback after submission. That’s why having the highest standards is essential—aim higher than the brands you’re writing for.
In my writing process, I work hard to see myself as a craftsperson.
A true craftsperson has pride in what they do, from every corner they work on–even the things most people won’t notice.
When you work on a higher level (with humility enough to listen to feedback), you’re on a different playing field than most freelancers. You’re meeting the style guide, expectations and evolving client feedback. But you’re also going the second, third, and fourth miles and exceeding expectations.
Going beyond expectations means constantly learning and applying the latest editorial standards and improving how you edit your work. Hence, it’s publishable at submission, creating quality work that represents the brand in the best possible way.
One way to become a great editor is by imagining your client’s thoughts. Ask questions like:
- What does the brief say?
- What is it not saying? (You may need clarification on issues before you write. Take the initiative and ask instead of finding out after you write the piece.)
- Are you meeting the standards on the brief?
- What is the brand looking for in a great piece?
- What is the brand’s stance on this issue, and what are its hot takes?
Even if you perfect the tone, format, and style, each editor has preferences. Find out what they like and what makes them click, and learn to meet those expectations. Editing is about relationships as much as it is about editing.
Related Course: How To Write Blog Posts That Get 500,000 Views
2. Shape the environment for feedback
Context can influence your feedback. If you just send an article on its own without supporting comments and information, then it can quickly turn into the Wild West. You have different expectations and context in mind, and the client or editor does too.
Instead, you can set the tone, share your vision on the piece, and add informative comments that minimize the need for feedback.
For example, you can add an introductory comment or send a Loom video. Through async (not live) communication, you can share your approach to the piece, possible challenges you faced, and your thought process as to why you created what you did.
I’ve worked with many great clients and editors who have provided top feedback throughout my career. One of the editors I’ve enjoyed working with through various projects is Becky Helzer, an editor at Insurify. She says:
“When I'm working with a writer, I find a couple of things make the editing process go much more smoothly and efficiently. First of all, I really appreciate when writers link directly to sources I can easily click on if I need to fact-check. Bonus points if a writer includes a note on exactly where I can find the info I’m looking for, especially if it’s been paraphrased or can’t be found with a Ctrl F search.”
By thinking like the editor, you make the feedback process easier for everyone involved.
If you want to truly minimize edits after submission, it starts by seeing the writer-editor relationship as a partnership.
Everyone focuses on the same goal: connecting with readers. Helzer concludes, “I also love it when writers are quick to respond to feedback and don’t take offense if I ask for clarification or additional information; it’s never personal.”
Related Blog Post: How Should Freelancers Communicate With Clients?
3. Back up your content
Your online writing should always have specificity. For example, if you say an app helps improve profit margins, don’t end the statement there. Say how.
Anytime you make a claim or bold statement, back it up with data, a quote, or a source that supports it.
Not only are these good editorial practices, but they also add credibility and support for your work when a client reviews it.
For example, you can say, “Users love it when they get a survey relevant to their needs.” A client or reader can easily object to that based on their preferences. But if you support it with an article from a relevant magazine or with data, the editor has information supporting you and doesn’t need to add that feedback.
This preemptive approach and editorial practice minimizes feedback but also wins trust from all parties, proving you know what you’re talking about, not inserting assumptions or questionable conclusions.
4. Verify your angle
Every piece you write should have one big idea. What’s the main takeaway from this piece? In academia, you might know it as the thesis—one sentence describing what you want to prove or disprove.
A specific angle helps focus your article. Everything you write, every paragraph, should move you forward to the ultimate conclusion. Each paragraph should be like hitting a nail with a hammer. Each action leads to the final blow. If your argument feels disjointed and all over the place, it’s like hitting your thumb instead of the nail.
Because of digital writing, we’ve become too dependent on headers. We can easily add a section with an H2 or H3. Often, we use these headings as a crutch, and our sections have no real transition. Sometimes, they don’t even connect to the one big idea; there’s no progression.
You can study classic essays if you want to improve at writing with a clear thesis in mind and paragraphs that progress toward the conclusion.
Thomas Paine planted the philosophical seeds for the American Revolution in Common Sense. If you read his essay, you see a clear argument building up:
- Why the government is a necessary evil
- Why monarchy is no longer relevant
- What did the American colonies need to do to redefine government
His clear and chronological argument works even if you’re reading blocks of text because each sentence builds and transitions to the ultimate point.
5. Maintain an internal doc for feedback
If you receive feedback, especially if it seems like a lot in the first submission, write it down. Keep a doc and maintain it. You can add notes, for instance, if a client doesn’t want a phrase or term used next to their brand (like wanting to use “platform” instead of “tool” for their product).
The document is also helpful in tracking different editors. If more than one person reviews your work, they may have different preferences, even within the style guide. You can log those differences to create a piece that pleases everyone.
Internal feedback docs can also help you work out remarks that don’t make sense yet. Maybe the feedback seems complex, and you haven’t decided what the brand wants yet. Tracking your thoughts, experiments, and notes helps you expedite solutions to improve your work.
6. Leverage tools as your second editor
Odds are, you’ve been using editing tools for years. Spell check in Google Docs or Microsoft Word were precursors to today’s more user-friendly tools. Now, we can use modern content tools and language models that leverage AI power.
Tools for your stack:
- Grammarly is a must-have tool to spot foundational errors , improve your prose, and create cleaner, more confident work. I highly recommend purchasing the Pro version because it’ll save you time reworking awkward and rough sentences. The tool also invests in AI features like reshuffling and rewriting specific sentences to sound better.
- Hemingway Editor is another excellent app that detects difficult sentences . It helps you simplify your work by reading level and line editing it so it’s easy to understand. The app has also invested in new AI features that help rewrite sentences.
Remember, you are your best editor and reader. Don’t take every suggestion literally. Many suggestions sound awkward and unhuman and can even become a distraction. Find what works for your piece.
You’re making wine: Feedback should be expected
Great writers understand that a written draft is like wine. Everyone starts in different stages of quality, and you’re constantly refining your work and future iterations. With the help of a client and editor’s feedback, you can make slight adjustments to improve the final result.
Ultimately, an editor or client point-person, like a quality-control wine taster, is always incentivized to give feedback. That’s a good thing because you can improve the piece.
Still, you can change how much feedback you get by improving your piece through three feedback lenses.
Feedback revolves around three areas:
- Quality: Is the piece written clearly? Is it relevant? Does it meet style guidelines?
- Communication: Are you listening to clients and implementing their feedback for future pieces, or are you missing the mark?
- Preemptive action: Are you anticipating hesitations or strategic choices that could get flagged? Think about word choices based on SEO and questions on sourcing, like how you got an original quote/interview or case study for the brand. Add those comments and notes before submission.
As you improve in these areas, you’ll notice your feedback improves, too, based on levels of quality:
- “This needs work”: Your article misses the mark, and you’ll spend much time implementing feedback (where starter freelancers land).
- “It’s great, but it could be better”: You delivered a quality piece, but parts of it don’t meet style guidelines or relevance (where most freelancers land).
- “It’s fantastic, and here’s how we can tweak it”: You’re an extraordinary freelancer who can address the nuances of writing and client expectations. You only need a few adjustments, which should take several minutes (where high-performance freelancers land).
- “I love it. No edits": The holy grail of freelancing.
The goal is to upgrade your writing process so that you submit work that reaches level three every single time. And, on occasion, level four.
Once you transition from “rewriting” and “reworking” to tweaking, you pave the way for a freelance workflow that fits your lifestyle.
Example: My editing process before submitting work
Here’s how I usually edit my work:
- Edit in a stripped-down interface: I use an app that’s just text (IA Writer) but sometimes use Notes. These apps let me draft and proofread without distractions. This is an excellent opportunity to read aloud and get a sense of the rhythm of your prose and some errors you would’ve missed by reading silently. You can also use LoFi or classical music in the background to help you feel your writing.
- Edit with a tool: After proofreading my draft, I export the document and drag it into Grammarly Pro. The tool spots my errors and helps me rephrase sentences.
- Line edit the piece: After my initial edit, it’s time to look at the flow and structure of the original argument. I ensure the piece is cohesive, has a clear trajectory, and has content parity (I don’t cover one thing extensively more than the other). You can use the Hemingway App or do it independently in a document.
- Build your official document: After I edit the piece, I move it to Google Docs for formatting and adding links and images. Once I finish those tasks, I do one last close reading, make minor edits, and add contextual comments for the client. I then run the Google Docs spelling and grammar checker to catch any new errors from recent edits.
The idea is to experiment with and adopt new tactics and technologies to find what works for you. Ultimately, you want to provide a polished piece of work, so you receive minimal feedback in return.
Keep your eyes on the one thing: The autonomous freelancer
When you optimize your process, improve your content, and build positive client relationships, you can save time on post-submission edits.
Reducing edit requests at first can be challenging, especially with clients and editors you already work with.
But when you keep your eyes on one thing: enjoying what you do on your terms, you’ll have more endurance and confidence to overcome those challenges and get to your dream freelance career.
Use these action steps to minimize edits after submission so you can enjoy your freelance business and grow.
What’s next?
Start working on your own terms, in your own time, and at your own rate.
