Outlines Can Save You Money

This post is for self-publishing writers (because traditionally published writers get free editing) and writers who might be on the fence about outlining. Here’s my usual caveat: if you’re not outlining, and that’s working for you, you should definitely keep doing what’s working.

I’ve written a lot about outlines. You can find those posts here. I’m the kind of writer who finds outlines a necessary evil. I started off as a pantser, but it ended up making me run into issues when I was trad-pubbed. I find outlining really tedious, but I do like the results.

When you hire a freelance editor, the best way you can make the process less-expensive for yourself is to deliver the cleanest manuscript you can. That goes for developmental editors as well as copy editors.

I’ve mentioned before that it’s a good idea to read your outline through before working on your draft. Avoiding extra expense (and delays with editing) is a great reason to do that.

After you’ve finished writing your outline, read it straight through. Does everything in your story make sense? Do your characters behave according to their individual personalities? Do they make choices that make sense for them?  Are there any plot holes? How’s your pacing in the middle of your book? Does anything seem contrived? If you’ve organized your outline chronologically, is there too much happening on one day in your story? Do you see any continuity errors?

I used to just create my outline, then follow it daily without reading the whole thing through and getting a global view of the story. This made for a lot more editing on my part, and for any editors working with me.

Do you outline or are you a pantser? Or do you do something in between?

Outlining Can Save You Money:
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