Self Editing 101

by Wendy Dean, Publisher/Editor

WHAT DOES SELF-EDITING ENTAIL?

Authors know the first rule of writing is editing. In a world where anyone can publish anything, making your manuscript stand out should be the priority. Self-editing means the author has done everything to ensure the manuscript is as clean as possible before sending it to their editor. It’s a skill that takes time to perfect, but a necessary one nonetheless. Plus, there are benefits! 

Self-editing can save money on professional editing. It narrows down the type of editing required for your manuscript and can decrease the time an editor spends on your manuscript. Additionally, self-editing improves your writing over time. Authors become more efficient and the result is a more engaging final product.

HERE ARE A FEW AREAS TO FOCUS ON:

• Repeated Words – As you read through your document, take note of words or phrases that are found multiple times. Make a running list then perform a word search and start replacing.

• Delete useless words such as: like, so, really, very. Why? These words fail to communicate enough information & end up weakening your writing. Often they are the written version of someone stumbling through a speech (er, um, uh). You can find more useless words to ditch at dianaurban.com and Tanya Thompson’s article here.

• Remove extra pronouns – Fix excessive use of pronouns at the start of every sentence. The find and replace function in your document creator is perfect for saving time on this task.

• Grammar – Unless you are a grammar guru, it’s best to keep the grammar on point before breaking any rules.

• Read aloud – Hearing your work out loud can be of tremendous help. Due to our tendency to become “word blind” to our work, we start to read what should be on the page rather than what is actually written. Do this yourself or use the read-aloud function in your document reader.

• Check Tense – Is it consistent? Does it make sense? A good rule of thumb for new authors is to use the literary present unless you are discussing historical events or your character is in flashback mode.

• Find the correct voice – An active voice gives clear information while a passive voice can often make the sentence too complex to be clearly understood. That said, there are moments when a passive voice may be necessary as explained in Alice E.M. Underwood’s Grammarly blog post.

• Show, Don’t Tell – Rather than telling the reader, “He felt cold”, show the reader by painting a more complete picture. Your character might need gloves and a hat, turn his back to the wind, or have teeth that chatter. Check out

• THE EMOTION THESAURUS: A WRITER’S GUIDE TO CHARACTER EXPRESSION by Becca Puglisi and Angela Ackerman. 

• Beta Reader – Find a trusted person who can read your manuscript and provide honest, constructive feedback. Usually, this is someone not in the publishing industry.

• Have No Fear – Don’t be afraid to cut out a scene or entire section of your book if it’s not working. Redo it for your current novel or save it for a future one.

As a writer, these skills will eventually become second nature to you. No matter what, always polish your work. Your editor will thank you!

Have more self-editing suggestions? Connect with us on SM and join the conversation.