Editing – what not to do

Ah, editing. Some writers love it, some aren’t as keen. Either way, it’s essential. Without editing, the books we write would be full of plot holes, bizarre and unlikely grammar errors, and characters with names that aren’t necessarily static thanks to a ‘change of heart’ halfway through writing draft one. So it certainly matters.

And there are many ways of going about editing. There are lots of methods to use and different things that you can try. Still, as well as all those editing tricks you can do, there are also some things it’s probably better not to do. Here are some of the don’ts of editing a book…

Don’t… ignore it

Of course, the biggest editing don’t of all is don’t ignore it. It needs to be done. We can put it off and pretend that the need doesn’t exist for a while – sometimes it helps to do that so we can concentrate on sorting out the first draft – but eventually we need to come around to the fact that it is Time to Edit.

Don’t… do it all yourself

Writers can make a lot of progress through editing on their own. As you make your way through your first draft, you’ll probably be noting issues you need to come back to later and bits of the plot that you know you need to re-do. They can all be fixed when you edit the work, but it also helps to get someone else to look over what you’ve written. We don’t always notice our own mistakes, and even when we do, our closeness to the text can make it hard to know what to do about them. A professional editor (and proof reader) can be a valuable addition to your work.

Don’t… just do it once

For most of us, editing is not just a one-time thing, so don’t automatically declare it done once you’ve gone through the entire draft once. Most writers tend to edit in several rounds – fixing the glaring errors and issues first before combing back through the text to fix the more subtle issues. It’s unlikely you’ll pick up on everything that needs sorting on the first go round, so be prepared to spend a lot of time with your manuscript.

Don’t… ignore those small niggling issues

So your book is 80,000 words long and there’s a tiny detail on page 3 that doesn’t match up with something on page 123. It might be tempting to leave it because to fix it would mess up other things that you’d have to go back and alter, but don’t. Don’t leave it. Someone will notice, and even if they don’t, you’ll know it’s there. Even if you’ve been editing for months and are sick of the sight of your own book, don’t ignore that little error. You’ll feel better for fixing it, and your work will be better too.

Don’t… do it forever

That said, there comes a point when we have to let things go. We could edit forever if we wanted to, but eventually we need to be able to declare it done. Learn how to tell when you’ve done enough. Then start thinking about what comes next.