"With every refinement in writing, I'm coming nearer to where I would like to arrive" ― William Zinsser
Easy! Cross out all the words you don’t like
The alternative to that is, of course, much more long-winded but likely much more useful, too. In the same way as writing a novel, Editing a novel can also be done in many different ways. There isn’t a one-stop way of getting your work into the best shape and, similarly again, there will be ways that work better for certain projects than for others.
A good starting point for editing any project, though, is to go about it brick-by-brick.
Have a pen and paper to hand and get ready to start a read-through of your written handiwork. A cover-to-cover read-through, like you’d go about reading any other Book. The reason for having a pen and paper to hand while you’re doing this is because during this read-through you can start scribbling down all of the things you’re not quite happy with.
Now, you’ve effectively got a list of things to fix – or at the very least, a list of things to double-check and another read through. Here comes the brick-by-brick part!
If you’ve noted down a collection of things relating to characters (for example), you’ll find yourself in a position to go back and fix those things you wrote down. Then, do another read-through. Focus on character again and give a keen eye to the things you noted down the first time around. Are they still issues, or are there others to address now?
Then, repeat as needed for: plot; consistency of voice, and tone; use of descriptions…
In short, you can repeat this process as needed for any areas that you think are problem ones for you. Okay, you’ll be sick of the sight of your work by the end of it (but, I hate to break the news, you’ll likely get to that point no matter how you go about editing things).
An obvious drawback to this is that it can be quite a time-consuming process (especially after the weeks, months, even years you might have spent writing your story or novel).
A quicker way to edit is to give your work one read-through and fix problems as you spot them. At the end of this you’ll have something like a clean draft that’s ready for readers or editors, and anyone else you might like to send the work to (adoring fans and family members, for instance). You run the risk of having more work to do further down the line, though, so it sometimes rests on whether you want to edit now or edit later.
To be clear, though, you do have to edit.
There will always be some smart Alec somewhere along the line that tells you this lie: “I didn’t edit it. The whole novel was published as I wrote it.”
Really? I mean, come on, really, Alec? There wasn’t even so much as a typographical error in the whole of that 85,000-word manuscript?
It’s an urban myth that writers publish full novels without touching a word of it. So, before someone lets you feel bad for actually wanting to improve your work – because that’s all editing is, improving and polishing – remember that editing means you’re aiming to put out the best manuscript you possibly can by editing it so thoroughly, and that makes you a fine writer!
And here's the wonderful author of this week’s post
Dr Charley Barnes
Worcestershire Poet Laureate 2019-2020Visiting Lecturer | Newman University and University of Worcester "I'm a poet, author and academic based in Worcestershire, UK, and I do love a good sit-down conversation about writing. At present, I'm a lecturer in Creative Writing and English Literature and I work at a number of institutions around the West Midlands, most recently University of Worcester and Newman University. When I'm not teaching I'm likely writing - Charley Barnes for poetry and C.S. Barnes for fiction - or I'm editing, either at the Dear Reader poetry journal or as the Personal Essays and Creative Non-Fiction Editor at Mookychick. I've devoted my career to writing and I've loved every second so far! It makes me sincerely happy to pass on a few pearls of wisdom that I've picked up along the way."
Thank you Charley for these wonderful tips
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Here's some more helpful advice with editing your works of fiction or novel:
You can, and should, absolutely edit your own book.
I’ve found the key to effective self-editing is to do it in stages/rounds. After you right the first draft, step away for at least a day, though I usually step away for a week. This will help clear your mind and give you a fresh set of eyes before you begin self-editing.
Next, you’re going to read through the book, don’t worry about typos, just focus on story, make notes of things that don’t sound right, possible gaps in the story structure, character arcs, etc.
Remember, there’s a difference between editing and proofreading. Proofreading is when you focus on typos, grammatical errors, etc. That comes later. Right now, you want to make sure the story flows, sounds right, “fits in” with the genre, yet still stands out.
After you’ve made your first round of edits, then I suggest going through and proofreading the book. In addition, you can use tools like grammarly, to help catch as many proofreading issues as possible.
Now, self-editing and proofreading is great, but at some point, you will need a third set of eyes to review your book and give you HONEST feedback. I completely understand that many people do not have the discretionary funds to hire an editor. Don’t worry, there are other opt.
Once you’ve fixed your typos and grammatical errors, reach out to some Beta Readers. Beta readers are fans of the genre that are willing to read your book, for free, and provide honest feedback. You can find beta readers on social media groups and forums that pertain to your genre. You’ll want to try and find about 3–5, so you can get multiple views on your content. Note: don’t worry about spending money sending out numerous copies of your book, simply send out digital copies(.doc or .pdf files usually work great) to your beta readers.
By picking readers familiar with the genre, they’ll be able to let you know if your book really fits in with the genre and/or if your missing any necessary tropes. Once you hear back from your beta readers, you can review their feedback and decide what suggestions, if any, you’d like to implement.(after all, it’s your book and you make the final decisions on it)
