Editing a thread before posting

A thread gets one chance with most readers. Once it's posted, people read it, repost it and quote it, and fixing a broken post in the middle is awkward at best. Editing before you post is where a thread gets good. It takes ten to fifteen minutes for a typical thread and saves far more in corrections.

The routine below works in passes. Each pass looks for one kind of problem, which is faster and catches more than reading the thread once and trying to fix everything.

Pass 1: Cut

Read the draft once with a single question for each post: if this post disappeared, would the reader miss it?

Posts that usually fail that test:

• Connectors that only lead into the next post ("Here's the thing." "Let me explain.").
• A second example making the same point as the first.
• Background the reader doesn't need to follow the next post.
• A recap of the first post near the end.

Be strict. A first draft of a thread is commonly a third longer than it needs to be. Every post you cut is one less swipe for the reader and one less place for them to drop off.

Pass 2: Check the first and last posts

The first post decides whether anyone reads the rest. Check that it states the topic, gives a concrete reason to care and makes a promise the thread keeps. If the most interesting fact in the thread is in post 5, consider moving it into post 1.

The last post decides how people feel about the thread. It should end the thread rather than just stop. A short takeaway, a summary, or a next step with a link all work. Calls to follow or share come after that, if at all.

Pass 3: Make each post stand alone

Read each post on its own, out of order. People land in the middle of threads from reposts and quotes, so every post should make sense without the one before it.

Look at the opening words of each post. Phrases like "This is why...", "And so...", "Which means..." or "The second one..." depend on context. Rewrite them to name the subject: "Remote hiring worked for us because..." instead of "This is why...".

Check the breaks too. If a post ends mid-thought and the next one finishes it, readers who stop between them get half an idea. Tweet Engine never splits inside a word, but it can split a long paragraph between sentences. Read those joins and move a sentence across with merge and split if it reads better on the other side.

Pass 4: Tighten the wording

Now go line by line:

• Cut filler words: "really", "very", "just", "actually", "basically" rarely add anything.
• Turn long phrases into short ones: "in order to" becomes "to", "at this point in time" becomes "now".
• Replace jargon your readers might not share, or explain it once.
• Break long sentences in two. On a phone, a 35-word sentence is hard work.
• Use line breaks inside a post to separate the point from the detail.

Tightening often frees enough characters to merge two short posts or add the detail a post was missing.

Pass 5: Check numbers, links and counts

This pass is mechanical, and it's where embarrassing mistakes hide.

1. Numbering: If you cut or merged posts, does "1/9" still match the number of posts? Tweet Engine renumbers automatically, but if you add numbers by hand, check every one.
2. Counts: Every post must be within 280 weighted characters, including the number label. Links count as 23 whatever their length, and emoji count as 2. The splitter's cards flag any post that's over.
3. Links: Open every link. Check that it goes where you meant and that it isn't a private or staging URL. Put the link where readers need it, not in the middle of a sentence.
4. Facts and figures: Check every number against its source. A thread with a wrong statistic gets corrected in the replies, publicly.
5. Names and handles: Check spelling. Mentioning the wrong @handle notifies a stranger.

Pass 6: Accessibility

A few quick checks make the thread readable for more people:

• Every image has a description. X's composer lets you add one to each photo.
• Hashtags with several words use capitals for each word (#SmallBusiness), so screen readers can say them.
• Emoji aren't used in place of words. A screen reader reads each emoji's name aloud.
• No text styled with Unicode "bold" or "italic" letters. Screen readers struggle with them, and they count double toward the limit.

The W3C's tips on writing for accessibility cover the same ground for web pages and are worth a skim.

Pass 7: Read it on a phone

Last, read the whole thread from top to bottom on the device most of your readers use. Text that looked fine on a laptop can turn into dense blocks on a phone screen. Watch for:

• Posts that look like a wall of text. Add a line break.
• Posts that are very short next to long neighbors. Merge or expand them.
• Any post where you feel like skimming. If you skim your own thread, readers will too.

Posting it

Post the whole thread at once with the composer's option to add posts, rather than one post at a time over several minutes. Copy each post from the splitter in order and check the numbering as you go. After it's live, read it once more in the thread view, and keep the splitter tab open in case you need to fix something quickly.

The short version

1. Cut posts that don't earn a swipe.
2. Strengthen the first and last posts.
3. Make every post stand alone.
4. Tighten the wording.
5. Check numbering, counts, links, facts and handles.
6. Check images, hashtags and emoji for accessibility.
7. Read it on a phone.

Most threads lose a few posts and gain a clearer first post in this process. That trade is almost always worth making.

Questions

Tweet Engine is independent and not affiliated with X Corp. X changes its features and limits from time to time; X's help center has the current rules.