Publishing Tips: Editing
The second in a series of publishing tips posts. We have exclusively self-published our works, and while traditional publishers are still a viable option, we do have a bit of experience in publishing ourselves. Hopefully there are people out there who will be inspired by our comments and our knowledge.
So, your draft is completed and you are ready and raring to go, looking to jump into the publishing scene with both feet. Unfortunately, the next step will likely take you as long–or longer–than the writing did. In many cases, substantially longer! I’m speaking of editing, of course.
C.J. Cherryh, a well-known fantasy and science fiction author once said, “It is perfectly okay to write garbage–as long as you edit brilliantly.” Never were truer works spoken! Contrary to popular belief, writers do not reel off 800 page manuscripts which are complete and polished and ready to be sold to the adoring masses. The fact of the matter is that written works need to be pored over, massaged, played with, toyed with, and sometimes even completely torn down and rewritten before they are ready for readers to wonder over the perfect placement of words and the majesty of the stories they tell. Yes, I’m being a little facetious, but any writer will tell you the work you are reading has had many edits before it gets to you. Here are some of the things I have found useful in editing my own works.
Set it Aside
After completing a manuscript, I have always found it useful to set it aside for a while. When I am writing something, I am completely engrossed in the writing, and while I will go over what I wrote the previous day, I am still thinking about what I need to write today, so not a whole lot of editing gets done while I’m actually writing. Furthermore, while it is still fresh in my mind, I have a good idea of what I have written, and I will miss mistakes I might have otherwise seen.
How long you put it to the side and leave it alone is your own personal preference. For myself, I am often impatient to get it to print, so it’s sometimes a struggle to let it sit around. A month or two can often be enough to allow the distance necessary for a writer to look at it with an objective eye, but it truly depends on the person. I definitely find it useful to allow the writing to fade from my memory for a while before I start working on it again.
Two Sets of Eyes are Better than One
This one goes without saying, but I will mention it anyway. It is an unfortunate fact that most writers are so familiar with or invested in their own work that it becomes difficult to spot the mistakes in their story. When we read something, we tend to start skimming when we’re familiar with the text we are reading. And when you start skimming, of course you miss things.
Many independent authors don’t have the means to go out and hire a professional editor to go over their work. In that case, it really helps to have a trusted friend–hopefully someone who has some skill in grammar, spelling, etc.!–to look over your work. Having another set of eyes look your work over is extremely beneficial, and can save you the embarrassment of having a book riddled with errors.
Connected with this, you also need to have an open mind about what your editor is telling you. Leave your ego behind and don’t get offended. When you ask someone to look something over for you, that’s exactly what they do. The final decision always rests with the author, but don’t discount well-meaning advice.
Break Out the Hatchet
Don’t be afraid to make cuts–heavy cuts if necessary. There are all sorts of “empty” words you can remove, like “very” or “somehow.” Sometimes, you’ll use five words when two or three can do. Whenever you edit, your general word count should be decreasing. You want your writing to be as “tight” as possible. Oscar Wilde once said, “I’m exhausted. I spent all morning putting in a comma and all afternoon taking it out.” While you don’t need to be quite that obsessed with getting everything perfect, you need to be hyper critical when you review your own stuff rather than just patting yourself on the back for the way something was worded. Think about how some of the words in there are empty or unnecessary or how you can replace six words with two. Longer does not mean better. If your manuscript is getting longer when you edit instead of shorter, it’s possible you aren’t doing something right.
Be especially careful of repeating things. Sometimes you’ll be writing away and you’ll make an important point. The problem is you made that exact point twelve chapters ago. Don’t get down on yourself–we don’t have perfect memories, and sometimes you will write things over again simply because it’s been a month since you wrote it previously. Just removed whatever you repeated and massage the surrounding paragraphs to make it flow properly. But make sure you keep your eyes open for repeats!
Things to Look For
Punctuation. This is a big gotcha when publishing. Are the commas in the right places? Are quotes surrounding speech, and do you have both opening and closing quotes wherever necessary? Are dashes used in the appropriate places? Are your semicolons used properly? Above all, is your punctuation consistent? For example, some programs might use straight quotes, while the font you are using has curly quotes. You should check all these to make sure everything is accurate. Liberal use of the find/replace function will fix these issues quickly and without a lot of fuss.
Grammar. Are your sentences structured properly? Do you have a good mixture of long and short sentences? Run-on sentences? Have you formatted your paragraphs properly?
Word choice. Do all the words mean what you have intended? Do you properly use to/too/two, their/there/they’re, here/hear, its/it’s, and other such words? Do your sentences say exactly what you want them to? Remember, Mark Twain once said “The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.” Make sure your manuscript says exactly what you want it to say.
Story continuity. Did that really cool plot you had actually have a resolution, or did you leave the reader hanging, wondering what happened to X? Does your story follow a logical and believable sequence? Will the reader be able to follow it? Sometimes writers want to make things complicated, as it increases the mystery, suspense, etc., but if your reader gets frustrated and puts the book down, you are not doing yourself any favors.
General considerations. Is all the text in your chosen font? Is the text all the same size? Are there any breaks or empty lines where there should not be? Are your section breaks handled consistently? Are your chapter breaks consistent? All these are factors which come into play closer to publishing time, but you should not forget them.
Have Fun
Editing is not always fun. In fact, sometimes after you have been through a manuscript ten times, it can be downright annoying. Remember, however, the wonder of the story as it came from your mind onto the page. Take time to laugh at some of the things you have written. I cannot count the number of times I have read something I’ve written and wondered how I could have written so bad. Don’t be hard on yourself. No one is perfect!
