Obviously a professional proofreader/copy editor is ideal solution. It takes a village to raise a child, and it takes a village of helpers to nurture a blockbuster like one you're writing. But what if you can't afford it or you're under deadline pressure with no time for a second opinion? This is not a happy situation, but in a pinch you can edit your own material. Here's how:

-After you've finished piece and spell-checked it, give it a rest. Wait as long as you can -- sleep on it, if possible -- before coming back and proofing it for errors you missed first time. Re- read it at least ten times. Then read it backwards, last sentence to first.

-Be ruthless. Whittle convoluted thoughts down into fewest words without losing meaning. For example, "She received support of 21 senators among those senators who were present for vote" becomes, "Twenty-one senators voted for her."

-Root out passive statements and flip them into active ones. Your Microsoft Word spell checker has a feature that will tell you how many passive sentences are in a document. It even tells you what grade level your piece is written for. Hint: Aim as low as possible - below grade eight if you can. (To activate this feature, check box beside "show readability statistics" on Spelling and Grammar options page).

-One idea per sentence, please. You will immediately understand why when you read following lead from a published news story:

<< Subheads Break It Up >>

Subheads are generally viewed as goodwill gestures toward your readers, since they're most often used to divide lengthy articles into logical breaks. They may indicate a change of topic or simply break up a mass of type. Placing subheads every four paragraphs or so allows readers to skim through your article or document and skip sections without losing their train of thought.

The next time you flip through any magazine, notice how its editors use subheads throughout longer articles. Readers are very averse to reading large blocks of text, so subheads break it all up into bite-size chunks.

<< Subheads Have "Idea Power" >>

Because subheads catch readers' eyes, you should use them to your benefit! Read through your document or article for your main promotional points, then summarize ideas as subheads. This way your readers absorb your main points in just a few seconds by skimming through all copy.

For best results, subheads should *not* read like a table of contents. To make your subheads engaging, it's important to include action or selling elements.

BORING SUBHEADS: "Our Story," "50 Years in Business," "Our Department's Success"