What to expect when working with a business award submissions editor

You’ve written your business award entry and you’re pretty excited about it. Now all you have to do is submit it and wait for good news, right? Well, that’s certainly one option. However, if you really want to be confident that your entry is as polished and compelling as it can be, then there’s one more step you can take: engage an award submissions editor.

I’ve never heard of an awards submission editor. What do they do?

An award submissions editor specialises in refining your draft submission to maximise its chances of winning. They leverage their long-term expertise in interpreting the specific requirements of the award, such as judging criteria and word limits to help make your entry shine.

The editor’s role goes beyond simply proofreading; they help to shape your narrative and highlight your achievements to really resonate with judges. And, when you consider that most business awards attract many hundreds of entries per category, keeping a judge engaged with your narrative is of paramount importance .

Effective collaboration

Before we get into what you can expect from a business award entry editor, it’s worthwhile to have a word or two about making this an enjoyable and effective process.

Effective collaboration is essential. So, if you don’t understand what your editor requires or what their edits mean, then ask questions until you do. Make sure to provide timely responses to any feedback and be willing to make adjustments based on their suggestions. Remember, the key thing here is to enhance your draft by leveraging the editor’s expertise while preserving your voice and vision.

OK, here’s how the process works.

Initial review and assessment

When you first hand over your draft (always in a Word document), the editor will review it thoroughly, identifying any gaps or weaknesses, and evaluating the overall power of your story. They’ll question:

• Is it within the word count?
• Does it tell a compelling and persuasive story?
• Is your message crystal clear and does the narrative flow?
• How strong is the evidence of your claims?

Detailed feedback and revisions

This bit of the process can sometimes be a little confronting. That’s because the award submission editor may make a great many mark-ups to your draft to highlight:

• Structural suggestions: To improve flow of content for better coherence
• Content enhancements: Recommendations for adding, modifying, or removing information to strengthen your argument
• Language and style adjustments: Revisions to improve readability, tone, and persuasiveness. Deletions of unnecessary words or repetitive phrases to tighten up the narrative.

Remember, the editors job is to help you win, so all their mark-ups are designed to elevate the quality of your submission from ‘good’ to ‘excellent’. This is an iterative process and may require you to dig deeper for more information or evidence.

For example, if your response includes such claims as ‘This initiative delivered exceptional sales’ or ‘Client satisfaction increased’, then fully expect to be challenged on these points. How do you define ‘exceptional’ in terms of sales? How many more did you achieve and what percentage increase was this? How do you know customers were happy? Where is your evidence to show they were?

Refining the draft

Once you’ve made revisions or provided further details based on this feedback, your editor will then focus on refining your draft even further. They’ll get busy with:

• Additional information: Reworking your responses to be more compelling by including any evidence, statistics or examples you’ve provided
• Polishing wording: Enhancing word choice to greater effect and strengthening sentence structure
• Eliminating errors: Checking for grammatical errors, typos, unnecessary repetition and inconsistencies
• Ensuring compliance: Double-checking word count and ensuring the draft adheres to any formatting guidelines.

Final approval

Once you’ve given this second version of the draft your OK, your award editor will conduct a final check. They’ll carefully proofread your entry from beginning to end and once again verify word count. Then you’re ready to submit!

Supporting documentation

Whilst your award submission editor will predominantly focus on your responses, they may also be able to give you some advice on what to include for any allowable supporting documentation. For instance, you may be able to include further data relating to your achievements, as well as testimonials, images and other collateral.

Where can I find an award submission editor?

Well, you’re in luck! Proof Communications has an enviable track record when it comes to writing award submissions. More than 95% of the award entries we write are shortlisted, with more than 73% going on to win.

We put the expertise of our winning award writers at your complete disposal. They’ll be only too happy to work with you on refining your draft submission so that it showcases your major wins and highlights your drive and energy in achieving them.

Our team of expert award writers is standing by, ready to help you increase your chance of business award success. Give us a ring and let’s discuss how we can make a difference to your business by ensuring it gets the recognition it deserves. So get in touch today or give us a call on 02 8036 5532 or 0448 566 377 and we’ll assist in any way we can.