Self-editing for authors
Self-editing is a skill, even for the most established writers. Being able to take a step back from your work and look at it objectively can take years to master. As authors, we are often too close to our own stories to spot errors and be ruthless about what can stay and what should go.
For this reason, publishing professionals recommend using an editor. Whether self-publishing or going the traditional route, editors play an essential role in preparing manuscripts for publication.
While an editor is necessary, there are a few things authors can do to improve their manuscripts prior to self-publication or agent submission to reduce cost and better their chances of success.
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Before you begin
One of the best pieces of advice I can give you is to put your manuscript away for a while before commencing edits. This allows you to separate yourself from your writing and return to it with fresh eyes. You don’t have to be parted from your work for long – even a week or two can do the trick. Just check that your story really is finished. Attempting an edit while you’re still trying to figure out the plot will only confuse matters.
Start with the big picture
When embarking on a first round of manuscript edits, it’s nearly always advisable to start with the big picture – unless you’re absolutely confident that your plot is completely sound (which is rarely the case). Big picture editing involves a deep dive into the bones of your story, including elements such as plot (structure/story arc/world-building), characters, voice, perspective, and pace. To help you at this stage, you could ask yourself the following questions:
Plot
The primary aim is for your story to be coherent e.g. make sense as a whole.
Is there a beginning, middle and end, including a climax and a satisfying resolution?
Are all scenes/events laid out in the right order?
Are there any scenes missing?
Does my story flow smoothly?
Character
Your characters should be relatable and believable. Ask yourself whether your characters belong in your story and have suitable motivations and desires.
Do you have a strong protagonist (lead) and an antagonist (or antagonistic force)?
Does your main character(s) change throughout the story?
Are your character traits believable and consistent?
Do you have secondary characters? Are there too many?
Are character descriptions consistent?
Are descriptions spread throughout the story or have you info dumped?
Is there too much or too little dialogue? Is it authentic?
Voice and perspective
Your voice, and the voices of your characters, should be clear and consistent. Your chosen perspective should also be consistent.
Have you chosen first person or third person?
Do you have multiple voices, and if so how are they individualised?
If you have multiple voices, have you been clear about where perspectives change from one character to the next?
Pace
Every story needs a strong sense of pace to keep readers engaged.
Where does the plot drag?
Have you rushed through certain scenes/events?
Have you used smooth transitions between scenes/events and chapters?
Line level edits
Once you are confident that your ‘big picture’ edit is complete, you can begin a line edit. This involves looking at each scene and section in detail to determine whether your writing is as precise and effective as possible. With a line level edit, you are effectively reviewing sentence structure (flow, pace) and word choice (repetitions, weak choices, clarity, tone). My advice here is to choose a suitable style guide to help you. You could also ask yourself relevant questions such as the ones listed below.
Sentence structure
Sentences should be written clearly and carefully. You should consider:
Active voice: Have you used active rather than passive voice? E.g. Sally fed the cat NOT The cat was fed by Sally.
Punctuation and pace: Have you used different punctuation to influence the pace e.g. ellipses, dashes, exclamations? Make sure not to overdo the punctuation, however. More often than not, simple commas and full stops work best.
Sentence length: Do sentences vary in length? If not, is there a reason for all short or all long sentences e.g. to create a particular effect? Short sentences tend to speed up pace while long ones slow it down.
Sentence structure: Have you varied sentence structure e.g. simple, compound, complex?
Sentence starters: Have you used different sentence starters e.g. not starting every line with ‘Suddenly’ or ‘The’?
Show don’t tell: Have you successfully shown your readers what is happening rather than simply telling them? E.g. Grey clouds gathered overhead NOT A storm was coming.
Tenses: Are your tenses correct? It’s amazing how many writers muddle these up.
Word choice
Word choice is vital to making your sentences shine. Too many filler words and weak verbs tend to make writing sound amateur and clunky. You should consider:
Cliches: Have you checked for cliched phrases? These can appear at line level and at a broader level as well. E.g. a book starting with a character waking up, or a description of the weather.
Connotations: Have you checked that the words you’ve used really mean what you think they do? Suggested synonyms don’t always work well as replacements.
Overused words: Have you overused certain words e.g. ‘suddenly’, ‘seemed’, ‘very’ and ‘then’ are common examples?
Pleonasm/tautology: The former refers to using more words than necessary to express an idea and the latter means to repeat the same idea using different or near-synonymous words e.g. She nodded her head.
Repetition: Have you said the same thing twice, or used the same word twice in close succession?
‘To be’ verbs: Have you used too many weak ‘to be’ verbs? E.g. She said loudly VS She bellowed.
Weak modifiers: Have you used weak modifiers such as ‘very’, ‘really’, ‘nice’?
The final polish
My biggest tip here is to read your work aloud. This is one of the simplest ways to catch even the smallest of typos. Getting your laptop to dictate your work to you can also work well. While not always possible, printing out your manuscript will also serve you well. It’s far easier to spot errors on paper than it is on a screen. A final polish – commonly known as a proofread – looks for errors relating to spelling, grammar, formatting and font, and any other tiny errors that might previously have slipped the net.
Spelling and grammar
Watch out for commonly misspelled words and American vs British spellings e.g. color VS colour (Word processors don’t always pick up on these).
Check names of characters and places are spelt consistently.
Check spellings of made up words such as spells or languages.
Check proper use of punctuation, including en/em dashes (AI texts commonly use em dashes where en dashes should be).
Formatting and font
Check text is all the same size and font, minus chapter/section headings and anything you’ve chosen to put in bold or italics.
Check contents lists are in the correct order.
Watch out for missed double spaces – I’ve never edited a book without at least a few of these.
Check chapter headings are consistent e.g. lowercase or uppercase for the first letters of words.
Check all dates, times, and measurements appear in consistent format. For example, measurements should typically all be in metric or all in imperial, though of course in the UK we tend to mix the two.
Conclusion
While some projects require professional editing, you can achieve a lot through self-editing. Starting a self-edit can be intimidating, but with the right tools you can go a long way towards perfecting your manuscript on your own. If I had one final tip to offer, it would be to always read your work one more time. If you can’t stand the sight of it anymore, ask a friend or two to help. The more eyes on a manuscript, the better, especially when the end is in sight!
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