Self-Editing

Let’s get back to writing talk, shall we? 

The last “writing-centered” blog post I made was in February about first drafts, and this month is all about revision and self-editing, which I am currently in the early stages of for my next book.

Before sending off a manuscript to beta readers or editors, writers need to do a fair amount of their own self-editing. There are a lot of things to focus on when revising: pacing, grammar/spelling, character arcs, plot holes, filler words, etc. It can be overwhelming, especially if you’re trying to tackle all of that in 1 single edit. It’s much easier to separate editing into bite-size-rounds, because then you're less likely to miss things. Here is how I break down each round of edits:

1st Round of Edits: 

• Your draft is done. Now is the time to go back to the beginning and flesh out descriptions and world-building. I’m someone who tends to write the bare minimum when drafting, so I always need to expand on those details in a 1st/2nd revision.

• Add more of your "author" voice and textured language. This is what I'm currently doing with Book 2 in Dark Magic: Underworld.

• Connect ideas & themes together that maybe were a little jumbled in drafting.

• See what’s missing. Is there a long period of time where nothing important happens? Are there any plot holes? Maybe you need to add a chapter or new scene.

2nd Round:

• Check on your Promise, Progress & Payoff. Did you successfully complete your umbrella plot story arc? What about your subplot arcs? 

• Check on your character arcs. Did your main characters change enough? Did they have their own journeys? Accomplish their goal?

• Are you telling rather than showing? Check for those moments.

• Continue more of 1st round things if they’re not all solved

3rd Round:

• Look at the 1st and last sentences or paragraphs of each chapter. Do they provide a good hook? Especially Chapter 1. Do they leave off in a way that keeps the reader wanting more? 

• Read aloud to check for grammar and messy/confusing sentence structure. 

• If you’re like me and have very complex plots, you may need to continue some elements from 1st & 2nd Rounds. 

• Make sure you're not head-hopping between character thoughts/POVs.

4th Round:

• Here is where I feel like it’s time to delete the unnecessary. Check for pacing. Does every scene impact the umbrella plot or a subplot? If it’s not important, cut it. Do you info-dump? You might need to trim down.

• Check for filler words. “Find” the following in your docs or software: just, maybe, probably, only, somewhere, someone, about, almost, really, even, always (and there are many more!)

• Why are these filler words? Because there are stronger verbs/descriptors you can use instead of those words. It’s not to say that you can’t use a filler word, but use them sparingly. I’m getting better about using them as I continue writing & editing.

You can also chunk these rounds out another way by focusing solely on 1 thing per read-through, such as ignoring everything except grammar, spelling & sentence structure (the copy-editing side.) Or only looking at your main character's journey (the development side.) Either way, you're taking things slow and narrow.

Round 4 is when I tend to feel ready for some beta readers. Their feedback will help guide subsequent rounds of editing, and ensure I'm on the right track. I’ll talk more about beta readers in my next blog post, but know this–I continue to edit my books until a few days before release. Why? Because as a self-published author, I don’t have an enormous team of editors checking over everything. Beta readers find things. My paid editor finds things. ARC readers find things. But not everything.

Having the skill to self-edit is invaluable for any author, regardless if they're self-pub or trad. I'm a perfectionist, so I may edit more than most people--I don't know, and I don't want to speak for other authors. I want to make the best book I possibly can, and sometimes that means reading the same manuscript over and over again, because I can guarantee you that I will always find something to fix. This includes catching small errors a week before KDP wants your final files...