Taking your first draft to a polished manuscript is often a long and painful journey, but it's well worth every agonizing step.
Think of editing as a necessary evil to having a polished manuscript.
Everyone edits with a different style. I find a checklist works. You can work through it step-by-step or address the issues in any order you wish. I probably missed a few steps that are pertinent to your project; be sure to add those in.
- Check your spelling. Do this with your computer’s spell check function, but remember that most spell check suggestions are absurd; consider the recommendations before accepting them. Then do the spell check yourself on a line-by-line basis. The spell check feature won’t pick up that you meant ‘there’ but typed ‘three.’
- Tighten up your prose. Brevity is loved by readers. Refrain from saying, “The sky appeared to be a lovely bluish hue,” when you can say, “The sky was blue.”
- Are the first line, sentence, paragraph, and chapter gripping enough to drag the reader in and want him to keep reading?
- Cut anything unnecessary. If words or sentences don’t contribute anything to the manuscript, cut them, no matter how brilliant they are. Every word should contribute substance and ‘meat’ to your work.
- If your point of view and tone allow for it, opt for active instead of passive writing. Replace “Jimmy was jumping” with “Jimmy jumped.” Use “Darla drove,” instead of “Darla was driving.”
- See if you mistyped any homonyms. It’s the peak of the mountain, not peek, and spell check won’t catch such things in most cases.
- Skip the fancy words; use simple ones instead, as having to stop and ponder a word’s definition wrecks the flow of reading for a reader.
- Explain any industry terms you use. Assume your reader is unknowledgeable about the subject matter and will need verbiage defined.
- Most sentences that start with “There are” or “There is” are weak. Whenever possible, find alternative ways to start the sentence.
- Use punchy verbs. Few things will make your writing look sloppier than bland verbs. Good coffee followed by a good morning followed by a good book is boring! Aim for precision with your verbs so they fully describe the noun they are attached to. How about –- bitter coffee, a glorious morning, and a book that is impossible to put down.
- Keep exclamation points to a minimum. A great writer once said that you shouldn’t have more than three exclamation points per 100,000 words of text. I tend to agree with him! Using too many takes away their power in your writing! Hope you understand what I’m getting at! Hope we’re clear! The writing itself should convey the excitement!
- Be specific. Detail what things are instead of being generic. Instead of saying, “Nancy got into her car,” say “Nancy got into her late-model Toyota Venza.”
- Avoid run-on sentences and run-on paragraphs. It is easier to read shorter of both.
- Never (well, in very rare cases) uses nouns as adjectives.
- Subjects and verbs need to be in agreement. A singular subject needs a singular verb, and the same goes for plurals.
- Have you used italics properly?
- Make sure your writing pops. Don’t just write run-on sentence after run-on sentence with long paragraphs and dry information. Keep things exciting for the reader. Incorporate the use of subheadings, chapters, and bullets. Include quotes or excerpted words from relevant people that bring something new to your material. Statistics and facts are always a welcome inclusion when they are kept to an entertaining and informative level.
- Check your writing to make sure it flows smoothly. Choppiness in either sentence structure or the presentation of ideas is not ideal. Is the writing clear or does it leave you confused? If you’re confused, I guarantee you that your readers will be, too.
- Double check any timelines.
- If you have dialogue in the book, read it out loud to check for pacing and to ensure that it is said the way the person would actually say it.
- Keep dialects in dialogue to what is necessary. Having too much can make it tough for the reader to follow, as he has to focus on the dialect interpretation instead of the work itself.
- Ensure the quotes are punctuated properly.
- Use “said” more than its synonyms. “Said” allows the words to speak for themselves and it makes it unnecessary to overuse words such as grumbled, mumbled, chuckled, whispered, etc.
- People cannot talk at the same time as they laugh, growl, sneer, smile, grin, etc.; they have to do such things before or after they speak. Incorrect -- “I can’t stand you,” Johnny sneered. Correct -- Johnny sneered. “I can’t stand you.”
- Abstract words, such as virtually, almost, nearly, probably, about, appears, and the like, are weak and should be used sparingly. Replace them with strong, precise words. Johnny wasn’t almost ready to crash the party, he either was or he wasn’t.
- When describing nouns, use imagery that appeals to a person’s senses. Aim for vivid, not mundane imagery. And as you’ve heard a thousand times, show, don’t tell.
- Adverbs ending in –ly should be used sparingly, as they are usually weak, I mean weak. Doors can be slammed without being slammed loudly.
- Cut redundant adjectives. A glass of milk doesn’t need to be described as white. It is redundant to say a rock is hard.
- Get rid of “however” when it is used to create a run-on sentence. Make two sentences instead.
- Always use apostrophes to indicate possessiveness. Consider women’s shoes, a dog’s collar, and a table’s legs. Note that for years you say 1950s, not 1950’s.
- Set off all clauses with commas. For example, “The virus is rampant in Canada, where the environment is conducive to it.”
- Cut out all clichés -– not only are they unnecessary, they show that you are an amateur. You can find original ways to express what you are trying to say. So cut out all the references to skin that is white as snow, flashy smiles, drunks who pass out and sleep like a baby, and a thief who sneaks into a house as quiet as a mouse.
- Do you have tense agreement throughout your book? Keep your tense limited to one in most cases.
- Ensure your quotes are accurate and credited properly.
- Are the names of people, titles, streets, cities, and countries capitalized?
- Double-check that your ending leaves no loose ends and that it offers a satisfying conclusion. Don’t leave anything hanging or any questions unanswered.
- If you have any lists, ensure they are numbered correctly and in sequence.
- Fact checking is mandatory. You will lose all credibility if you publish a book with incorrect information. Even if you are 99% certain something is correct, double-check it so there is no doubt. Accuracy is essential. And use creditable sources for your fact checking, not a blog entry written by a disgruntled employee a decade ago.
Last of all, do a line-by-line read, preferably out loud, so you can catch any awkward or stumbling phrasing. I know that by this point you are so tired of reading and editing your own words that you are considering skipping this step, but I promise it’s worth it. If possible, put aside your manuscript for a couple days (or weeks would be even better) so you can come back to it with a fresher, more objective eye. Do the final edit on hard copy, as you’ll look at it in a different way than you would a computer screen.
Make sure your manuscript is sensational before you submit it for publication.
Copyright Toby Welch. Contact the author to obtain permission for republication.
Toby Welch - Toby is a full-time freelance writer who specializes in magazine articles, online writing, e-books, and manuscript editing.
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