Step-by-step guide for self editing
You’ve written a novel and decided to publish independently. Many people think they have a book in them but never take the steps to finish a first draft. You’ve done it! Congratulations on your accomplishment.
Now what? Before formatting your novel for publication, there’s the most important step: editing. If you’re not hiring someone to edit for you, it’s possible to handle it yourself. Here’s the best way to do that.
Step one: Take a break
Writing a novel is hard work. Whether it took you two years, two months, or two weeks to knock out that first draft, it’s important to step away from it before editing. We recommend at least a month where you don’t look at the manuscript at all. Looking at your writing with fresher eyes can help you catch mistakes you wouldn’t otherwise notice.
Step two: Follow best practices for editing
Try these tips for self-editing to get started, and repeat them at least once. Consider it your first pass, where you print the manuscript (if possible) and read it aloud. The best editing happens in multiple sessions.
Step three: Look for inconsistencies
Consult your cheat sheets and then search for inconsistencies. Don’t have character or story cheat sheets? It’s not too late to make a list of characteristics for the main characters. What’s their full name, and what do they look like?
Character mistakes
What you’re looking for is anything that doesn’t quite add up. Did your protagonist lose her father at age 13? Don’t say later in the story that he died when she was only 10. Does your hero have beautiful blue eyes? Don’t mention his dark, brooding eyes later.
Word misspellings or misuse
At the same time, you’re checking again for misuse or misspellings of words, character names, or setting names. If your fictional town is Bettencourt, don’t call it Betencort later.
Verb tenses
Look at your verb tenses. If the whole story is told in the form of “he says” or “she says,” avoid suddenly switching to “he said” and “she said.”
Keep consistent POVs
Keep your points of view (POVs) consistent. If you’re writing first-person (I walked…), don’t suddenly switch to third-person (She walked…). Keep a watch for head-jumping if you’re using third-person limited, meaning that the story is third-person but only told from one or more characters’ perspectives. If more than one perspective is used, the narrative is typically separated by chapters or sections within chapters.
Head-jumping is not a problem in third-person omniscient, meaning that the narrator is all-knowing. The narrative can easily jump back and forth between what characters say and their internal dialogue.
Use second-person POV sparingly in fiction since it is typically reserved for articles and self-help books. That means you’re addressing the reader directly, using the familiar “you,” as we do in this post.
Step four: Triple-check dates
If you’re using dates in your story, make sure they’re accurate. Past or future, if you’re referring to a specific year and date and calling it a Saturday, make sure you’re correct. Some eagle-eyed readers might find those mistakes and rake you over the coals for it.
Step five: Do your research to avoid anachronisms
What’s an anachronism? It’s an idea or object that’s out of place in time. I see this mistake often in books, TV shows, and movies. If you’re writing historical fiction piece, whether it’s something you’d consider that genre or not, you’ll want to be careful of this mistake.
For example, a novel set in 1888 won’t have cell phones, right? Well, a novel set in 1988 won’t either, and one set in 1998 won’t have iPhones or Google Pixels.
Even if it’s just a few years in the past, do your research. Is a group of teens going to see a movie? Make sure that movie was in the theaters at the time. IMDB is an excellent resource for checking movie and TV data. The same goes for hit songs. Check out Wikipedia for release dates to make sure songs were actually out at the time your character is listening to it.
Step six: Don’t be afraid to delete
It’s hard to let go of something you’ve written. But if a word, sentence, paragraph, or chapter doesn’t fit in the story, you have to let it go. Review your story like a reader. If something doesn’t serve a purpose, delete it. You may or may not need to add something else to take its place.
Step seven: Allow natural breaks for your readers
Think of each chapter as a short story. What happens in the chapter needs to make sense and not be too short or too long. You’re looking for the perfect balance.
If multiple things happen, allow section breaks for the scenes or even chapter breaks if something dramatic has just happened. For section breaks, you can skip a line or add a decorative icon or a row of asterisks to let the reader know something has changed.
Keep those readers turning pages without making them feel fatigued. Blocks and blocks of narrative or dialogue can be overwhelming. Break up narrative chunks into paragraphs. It’s okay to have shorter paragraphs and even ones that have only one or two sentences.
Keep dialogue moving with character actions mixed in. (Does he run his fingers through his hair while speaking? Does she look at her feet before speaking again?)
It’s okay to leave a chapter at a mini-cliffhanger. What better to make that reader keep turning pages (or scrolling on their e-reader)?
Step eight: Know when to let go
At some point, you have to stop editing and prepare for publication. Will the novel be perfect? Of course not. There will be a typo or two. Even the most seasoned editors don’t catch everything. Most of the time, readers are forgiving of the occasional typo.
The good news about indie publishing is that you have the ability to fix the manuscript later if you find something that bugs you a lot.
Plan to hire an editor?
If you’re planning to hire an editor, ask for references and to look at finished products they’ve edited. Make sure you have a clear plan of expectations and agree on a price, which is typically either a set amount or a per-hour rate.
Do you have questions about editing your own work?
Let us know in the comments! We’re happy to help!