Self-editing is the most dreaded part of the writing process. Editing is hard on its own – but – you can rely on a professional editor for this. There is one step that comes before the professional edit, which is the practice of self-editing, which is essentially a series of edits and revisions that you do before submitting your draft or manuscript to a professional editor.
This process is one of the most overwhelming processes for writers, especially for newbie writers who have just completed their first draft.
If this sounds like you, then we have jotted down some of the best tips for self-editing your book.
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One Step at a Time
When it comes to editing your novel, you can make it easier on yourself by taking it one step at a time, which is essentially chapter by chapter. Of course, editing an entire first draft will be intimidating as you will have to revise an entire book.
But – the best part is – you can make it easier on yourself. All you need to do is to break the big goal into smaller, achievable milestones. Essentially, what we are telling you to do is to focus on one chapter at a time – instead of looking at the entire book.
It feels like a whole lot to fix an entire manuscript – but – by breaking the process and focusing on fifteen pages before moving on to the next pages can make everything a whole lot easier. You will be surprised to know how quickly you can go through your edits when you only look at them one chapter at a time.
Copy the Pros
Now, when it comes to copying the pros, it doesn’t mean you are as qualified as a professional editor – but – no one stops you from trying to copy their process. If you don’t know what the standard editing process looks like, you should know that it is something like this:
Developmental Edit: this editing process revolves around content and storyline edits.
Line Edit: this editing process includes editing paragraphs, editing flow, and editing style
Copy Edit: this editing process is where you assess your manuscript on a sentence level. We are referring to punctuation, commas, and grammar.
Proofread: the last part of the editing process is where you take a final look at your manuscript and look for any teeny mistakes that might have slipped through the cracks.
Only when you have self-edited your novel in this manner should you hire an editor for your novel and let the pro finally make the much-needed edits and polish your novel in the best way they possibly can.
Get Critique Partners
It doesn’t matter how great a writer you are; the fact is that you cannot know everything. All you need to do is to get more than one critique partner on board so that all of you can combine your knowledge and create a team of amazing writers.
In case you are wondering what a critique partner could be, you should know that critique partners are your fellow writers who critique one another’s manuscript with the intention of improving it. You can look at this process in terms of a light-handed edit that you make before the professional edit.
Your critique partners will read through your manuscript and point out any issues that you have missed because you are too close to the project.
Read it Out Loud
Now, this is a tip that can actually speed up the entire editing process. The only thing that you have to do is to read a section of your manuscript out loud and listen to yourself as you read it. You can also have it read out loud to you.
The thing is that when you silently read your manuscript over and over again, you do yourself no help as the only thing that is happening is that you start to memorize your content. This aspect indicates that it is very easy to skip over or ignore some mistakes that are otherwise very blatant.
However, it gets hard to ignore mistakes when you read your manuscript out loud as the mistakes will stand out, and only then will you be able to fine-tune your style. So, we recommend having your book read out loud at least once during the self-edit process. But – if you can have it read out more times, it is even better for you.
Color-Coding
Some people are visual learners, and if you are one of them, you can make the self-editing process so much easier by color-coding. The thing is that color coordination is absolutely powerful. At the start of your editing process, you should start with the first chapter – while maintaining one chapter at a time.
You will find that there are some issues that are relatively easier to address than others. So, if you come across a mistake that is really difficult to correct – you should highlight it based on the kind of issue you are facing before moving on to the next.
You can opt for any color-coding method that you might prefer for the time and select it based on the following aspects:
- Strengths
- Style
- Weaknesses
For instance, if you feel like you can shorten or delete a section, you can highlight it in blue. If there is anything redundant, you can highlight it in yellow. Anything that needs to be rewritten altogether, you can highlight in red.
Benefit of Color-Coding
Did you know that with color-coding your manuscript during the self-edit phase, you can move on from the process faster than you would possibly imagine? It is typical for newbie writers to fixate on an error to the point that they might sit there for hours, getting absolutely nothing done.
So, the best you can do is to highlight your manuscript and move on from the process and your mistakes instead of obsessing over them.
You are in full control during the self-editing process, which means that you can save the complicated things for later. If you get stuck on a mistake, highlight it and move on because it is possible that the answer might come to you over time. You might as well have to ask other writers for their feedback.
