From Draft to Published: The Invisible Work of Writing Here

When our readers see published posts at Urban Era Marketing’s websites, all they see are well-crafted articles from a dedicated team of writers who’ve excelled in their niches. What they don’t often see are the messy notes, rewrites, and long hours that went into it.

For a history writer like me, in particular, typing up words is just the first part of the job. The real work is making sure every date, name, and fact holds up. History has a way of punishing even the smallest slip-up, so accuracy and clarity sit at the center of the process.

That’s why our writing process doesn’t start with writing at all. They start by digging deep into sources, cross-checking, and questioning until the foundation is solid. 

Without that groundwork, everything else collapses.

In this walkthrough, I’ll show you what happens behind the scenes: the research, the ugly drafts, the clarity checks, the teamwork, and the polish that makes each article worth your time. 

So yeah, here’s a sneak peek at the writing process behind Urban Era Marketing’s stellar blog posts.

Step 1: The Research Deep Dive

Hi! Welcome to my messy, nerdy mind. 

Research is where historical writing begins, and it’s why it takes longer than most topics. (I’m the last one to submit my drafts, hehe).

Armed with my second cup of coffee for the day and Lo-fi girl as my go-to white noise, I spend hours researching and fact-checking. That involves checking primary and secondary sources and making sure that small details—like who led which kingdom in what year or when a treaty of what country was signed—are correct. 

If I don’t nail those basics, I risk leading readers astray. And if there’s one thing this history writer doesn’t tolerate, it’s any form of historical distortions. 

For sources, I pull from free-access published journals and credible history-based websites such as the Library of Congress and National Geographic. Sometimes that means reading multiple accounts of the same event just to understand which details are consistent and which are contested. 

That also means an ungodly amount of tabs opened at once. 

The notes I take at this stage would horrify anyone else. They’re full of typos, half-thoughts, questions in all caps, highlights, and side comments like “CHECK THIS” or “MORE RESEARCH ON THIS.” 

Take this screenshot of my notes from an upcoming article about Cleopatra, for example:

Readers never see this invisible layer. But it’s the part that prevents confusion, avoids errors, and builds trust. Good history writing is only as strong as the research buried underneath.

Step 2: Drafting (and Re-Drafting… and Re-Drafting)

Based on how I write my notes, you can easily tell that my first draft is rarely pretty. It’s more of a dump than a draft—throwing all my notes onto the page, trying to see which fits into the story I’m trying to tell.

The next thing I do is revise said draft. Repetition gets cut, arguments are rearranged, and the story begins to flow. Sometimes, I even scrap multiple paragraphs or whole sections because they don’t serve the central idea. 

 At this stage, it’s more about shaping information into something coherent and worth reading.

Side note: If you’re an aspiring writer reading this blog and don’t believe me when I say that revisions separate a good piece of writing from a great one, then listen to this podcast from the National Centre for Writing:

The later drafts are where I focus on voice and flow. This is where the article stops sounding like a research paper and starts sounding like a story. I add transitions, smooth awkward sentences, and double-check that my insights are front and center.

That last part matters to me most. 

I don’t want to produce articles that are just fact compilations. Anyone can Google a timeline or an interesting factoid. My pieces, on the other hand, always carry insights grounded in contexts and evidence.

Read the rest of the steps here: From Draft to Published: The Invisible Work of Writing Here