How to Self Edit

You finished your manuscript. You typed the last words. Yay! But…all you’ve done is written your way into the hardest part.

Unfortunately, you can’t type “the end” and immediately pass it off to beta readers. Or, you shouldn’t. Because there is still so much work to be done. It isn’t worth sharing a hot off the press draft that you haven’t re-read or fully fixed. You want to get notes when you’ve done the best you can which is ideally by the second, third or even fourth or fifth draft. But how do you revise on your own to get to a close to perfect (or at least as perfect as you can make it on your own) draft you can share with other readers?

It is almost impossible to edit your own work. I am an editor. I read my own writing many times before I share it. And I still find mistakes.

You’ve spent so much time inside your words that it is almost impossible to see what is really there.

I recommend putting your first draft away for at least a week, ideally a month, or as long as you can stand it. Give your brain time to relax and to focus on other things. The goal is to come back with eyes as fresh as you can make them.

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

They still might not be fresh enough. So the next step is to make your manuscript look different. Can you print it out? Change the font? Read it aloud?

You know how sometimes you move something in your house and your eyes still see it? Or how it can take a moment to notice a loved one’s new haircut? That happens with a manuscript you’ve lived in for a long time. Your eyes play tricks. Putting it away and changing how the manuscript looks or reading it aloud are all ways to help yourself truly see what you have.

Once you can more objectively judge your manuscript, don’t only worry about the little things. In fact, I’d argue that those little things come last. First, make sure you start the main story quickly (not too much setup), have characters that pop off the page, and have a clear plot that pulls us from the beginning to the end. If you’re losing your plot or don’t even know what it is, go back to your synopsis or write one and then compare it to the draft you actually have. Focus on bigger picture items like these first before you worry about punctation or grammar. I wrote an article on the 10 biggest writing mistakes authors make and it is worth referring to as you edit. You want to have a solid foundation before you make it look pretty.

10 Biggest Writing Mistakes

When you feel like you’ve fixed absolutely all that you see, you can finally find beta readers. But don’t relax yet! If you thought self editing was hard just wait until you start receiving editorial notes from other people. I’ll go into that in a future newsletter.

What are your tips for self editing? Share in the comments!

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