Play like a pro: be your own editor

Five elements tend to distinguish amateur writers from seasoned veterans, honed chops aside:

• Research – read on your topic before you start writing. Even 15 minutes surfing sites, articles and Wikipedia will give you a huge edge – and perhaps even some strong angles and link-worthy material.
• Source – ideally a post is a conversation, not a monologue, presenting pro and con viewpoints where appropriate (balance strengthens a piece, even one with a strong opinion, by bringing credibility. "I'm not just a whacko banging a drum", it telegraphs. "I've looked at both sides of the equation and back this one. Now you can do the same."). Connect to the larger world via links and quotes. Cite studies and statistics, tracked to their source of origin. Name interviewees and experts, and explain their relevance to the subject at hand.
• Fact-check – question what you read, especially online. If a source seems questionable, double-check it against two others. Don't wing dates, facts, foreign phrases, famous quotes or recaps of news events: be accurate and perhaps even link to authoritative sources, so readers can explore the topic further. Whenever you draw from others' content – whether that's a Flickr photo or a quote from an AP story – honor the creator's hard work with a citation and a link. Not only is this gracious, but it builds accountability, authority and community.
• Redraft – blogging can be a very immediate medium, but it doesn't have to be. Quick posts encourage sloppy reporting and careless writing, neither of which inspire readers. So, when possible, put aside your draft for a few hours or days. Return to it with fresh eyes. Be prepared to take a few swings at the thing. Remember that most professional authors – those not on breaking news deadlines – revise a piece anywhere from 5 to 50 times (or more, like the award-winning Edward Readicker-Henderson, who also teaches for Writers.com). As a blogger, you're paddling in their pool. Stay competitive with thoughtful, well-polished posts.
• Self-edit – Google names. Run spellcheck (Word has a grammar function. Click "options" in the Spellcheck dialogue, then tick "check grammar with spelling" and "show readability statistics". This helps your police overlong sentences and passive verbs). Read the piece aloud. Print it and read it in a new medium away from your usual workspace. Ask friends to look over a draft – or fellow bloggers. You have the start of a support network right here in class ... grow that further by contacting like-minded writers. As Kevin O'Keefe points out on Real Lawyers Have Blogs, a quick message – especially after a link or citation – can lead to fruitful relationships.

Topnotch publications still employ fact-checkers to verify stories (Julian Barnes wittily details the New Yorker's laborious process in Letters from London, an excellent read). These meticulous folks demand every URL, interview transcript, page number and contact detail, so authors keep airtight records – a wise habit for bloggers too.

Should a dispute ever arise over a quote, threatening a libel suit, you'll have ammunition. A handful of my blogger-journalist colleagues have taken out liability insurance, but they cover controversial themes: such tactics aren't common yet. Still, it's worth covering your butt. Hang on to your notebooks, source materials and original versions of any digital recordings (Sherry detailed some great tips for audio-archiving in this recent post. Take advantage of today's cheap e-storage now, on-site and off.)

Even the most conscientious writer – blogger, journalist or book author – misses a few tricks: we're only human. But honor your own work and the reader by running as tight a ship as possible.