We’ve all been caught staring at the same page for a decade, wondering what to change next. In this article, I’ll give you nine quick tips for self-editing your story. These tips are immediately actionable and give you that oh-so-good feeling of forward motion.
Whether you’re self-publishing or looking to query, your story needs to sound and feel professional. That means sharp prose, consistent style, and most importantly, putting your reader first.
Now, these aren’t things you have to do. These are things you can consider, and that distinction is important. There are situations in which you might not want to take some or any of these suggestions, and it’s up to you to know what works for your story.
We’re going to cover a little technique, a little developmental editing, and a little line editing in this article, so buckle up! Here are nine quick tips for self-editing your story.
Change your perspective.
When we’re writing, we can get pretty blinded to our own foibles. That’s why a change of perspective between every round of editing is crucial.
Tip #1: Give it some time to percolate.
Put the manuscript down for a few weeks and do other things. That way, you’ll come at it with fresh eyes.
When you look at it again, try to read it once the way any reader would. Ignore what you know, and look at what’s on the page in front of you. Resist the urge to edit at this stage.
Tip #2: Change your setting.
Whether it means working in a different room, at a different time, or just using a different page colour in your word processor, changing the context from “writing zone” to “editing zone” will make a difference.
Tip #3: Use your ears.
Read your manuscript out loud, record yourself, and play it back. Alternatively, you could have someone read it to you, even if it’s just the text-to-speech wonder that is Microsoft Sam.
Listen to the flow of your sentences, the mood and tension of your story, and how easy it is to follow.
Keep your reader in mind.
It doesn’t matter how brilliant you are if your words never permeate that wall between yourself and your audience. The story comes first, yes, but the reader comes right after.
Tip #4: Are you giving them too much?
Readers use their imagination. If you spend a lot of time describing simple actions in ridiculous detail they can easily walk away feeling like you’re mocking them.
Example: “I unzipped my purse, opened it, stuck my hand inside, rummaged through my possessions, found the lighter, took the lighter out, and lit my cigarette” should be “I lit my cigarette.”
“Does my reader really need this?” Is the key question here.
Tip #5: Are you not giving them enough?
Read through your manuscript again, but this time, imagine you don’t know the story. Keep track of every time you reach a concept you’ve not explained before, a person you never mentioned before, or a plot element you hadn’t uncovered before. Do you do a good job of introducing them, or do you waft by assuming we all know?
You don’t need to reveal or explain everything at once. However, the things you keep hidden need to be intentionally so. That means being vague because it pays off later on, not because you assumed we’d just go with it.
“Will my reader know what I’m talking about” should be your main concern.
Tip #6: Pace the names.
Few things are going to make readers run faster than an invasion of names on page one. You have an amazing cast, we get it, but we can’t keep up with it all at once – nor with their guilds, factions, towns, birthstones, or horses.
Take your time and pace the rate at which you introduce anything with a proper noun. Make a rule for yourself and stick to it – for example: no more than one new proper noun per paragraph, no more than two per page.
Furthermore, make sure they’re well-differentiated and memorable. “Will my reader remember this?” Should be at the top of your mind.
Look at the little things.
A good story is an amazing thing, and it would be a shame to have it bogged down under awkward phrasing and filler words. However, these three tips can help you improve your prose right away.
Tip #7: Use technology.
Free software like Grammarly or the Hemingway editor are no replacement for real editing, but they are a wonderful starting point.
When they tell you there’s a problem, that doesn’t necessarily mean you have to change something – but understanding why they told you so will help you understand what people expect to read.
Plus, they can save you from awkward spelling mistakes, homophone errors, and many other bloopers.
Tip #8: Search and highlight.
You probably know we all do these things called “hedging” and “filtering”. Unless you’re a gardener or a coffee maker, neither of those are something you want to do.
Search for words like “very”, “a little”, “seem”, “tend”, “look like”, “appear to be”, “could”, “began to”, “really”, “just”, “actually”, and anything else that gets in between the reader and the story. These weak, but often used words lessen the impact of your more important words.
Highlighting them in your document will show you just how often you use them. Ask yourself “Is this necessary?” every time you see one.
Example: “She began to run down the stairs very quickly but he actually stopped her.” should be “She ran down the stairs but he stopped her”.
Tip#9: Use a thesaurus wisely.
Yes, there’s a right and wrong way to use a thesaurus. You don’t want to replace every single word with a more complicated version of itself. However, if you find yourself using the word “blue” sixteen times on one page, “azure” might be a lifesaver.
Bonus points if you also use an Emotions Thesaurus to upgrade the way you express emotions, an architecture dictionary if you’re spending a lot of time on squinches, or a plant encyclopedia for those botanically-inclined.
Final thoughts.
Self-editing doesn’t have to be a pain. These nine quick tips for self-editing your story barely scratch the surface of what you can do to impact the readability and attractiveness of your writing.
Even if you intend to hire a professional, taking these steps will ensure that you provide them with the best possible manuscript so that they can focus on more technical details.
A little research and a little reading can go a long way. Finding friends and fellow writers to critique-swap with will go even further.
Lean on websites like Scribophile or join me on Twitter if you want to get into collaborative writing, and don’t be afraid to reach out.
Happy editing!
