5 SELF-EDITING TIPS TO SAVE YOU MONEY
By Kat Caldwell
A very important step in the writing to publishing pipeline is self-editing. This is the phase right after you’ve finished your full draft and before you send it to the editor.
Yes, you read that right.
You NEED to edit your story yourself before you send it to the editor.
The main reason comes down to money. When you send a manuscript that hasn’t been self-edited you will spend money on the editor fixing things you could have fixed for free (doing it yourself). This will leave the editor with less time to focus on the things authors have blind spots for (plot holes, underdeveloped characters, scenes that need more or less development etc.)
As I tell all of my clients, it takes months, sometimes years, to write a book. The fact that you have changed, and that the story most likely has changed, since the day you sat down to write it, means there are inconsistencies and mistakes throughout the story that you don’t know about.
At least, until you go into editing mode.
Self-editing is about making the story the best it can be before paying for a professional editor to make it polished and ready for publication.
BUT please hear me when I SHOUT this, self-editing is NOT re-reading your story and tweaking some words or phrases. Self-editing is taking a step back and looking at the story as a READER and then improving the story from the standpoint of making it clear and enjoyable for the reader.
- Cut Repetition in Your Opening Chapters
Once the draft is “done,” go back and read your first 3–5 chapters. THIS IS KEY! I have read several books now where the author repeats themselves in the first few chapters. Almost word for word.
This is normal for a draft because those early pages are often where you, as the author, are still getting to know your characters. This is NOT normal for a final manuscript and will make many readers set the book aside. Be ruthless about these repetitions. I’m talking backstory, character description, place description, side character value (what they mean to the MC) and anything else that is repeated.
If you’ve said it once (beautifully), don’t say it again a chapter later. The reader will remember. They are reading your book in a fraction of the time it took you to write it. They do NOT need anything repeated to them, so don’t do it.
- Find and Understand Your Inciting Incident
If you’re unsure what your inciting incident is, that’s a problem. The inciting incident is the moment that your MC is catapulted into the story. It’s what makes the story worth writing.
Make sure it’s clear to the reader, it happens early enough, and it isn’t buried under ten chapters of backstory. Most readers these days won’t get through the backstory in order to get to the inciting incident. If your character is warming up to the story by drinking coffee, meeting neighbors, greeting coworkers and generally reflecting on their life BEFORE the story starts then cut all of it. Boil everything down to something a side character can say and move headfirst into the actual story.
If your beginning feels slow, be brutally honest with yourself: is the inciting incident clever and interesting, and is it close enough to the beginning to get readers to keep reading?
What do you do with all that backstory? A good writer sprinkles it throughout the book as the reader gets to know the characters. They do NOT add it as a chunk at the beginning of the story.
- Align Character Arcs with Their Goals and Wounds
Characters have to change in a story. It doesn’t have to be a huge change, but they do need to change. That’s the point of story in general.
Once you are finished with your manuscript, read your ending and analyze your character. Then, go back to the beginning and read the first few chapters. Make sure the characters start somewhere, not physically but emotionally and mentally, different then where they end. A main character should be practically the opposite person at the beginning from where they end.
In order to do this you need to identify their goals, motivations, and “ghosts” (that internal wound driving them), then read the story MAKING SURE their journey reflects them attaining their goal (or realizing they need to change it) through their motivation and overcoming their ghost.
Growth should feel slow and earned, not sudden.
Which goes into the next point…
- Make the Plot Feel Inevitable
The plot of the story should flow from your character’s choices. The plot should NOT be something you, as the author, NEED to have happen.
If something feels forced, ask yourself: “Would my MC really do this?”
Then ask, “WHY?”
Why is this next step necessary? Does it feel inevitable to the reader? Does it make sense, or did they just hop on over to the next scene?
The movement of the plot is done by the decision making of the MC and those around them. It’s easy to see this quickly by watching a well-written movie. You can see how the decisions and actions of each main character moves the plot with inevitability. Your story should feel the same.
- Tidy the Basics
Cut filler words (just, that, really, very).
Use active voice where possible.
Fix your dialogue punctuation. Google how to do this if you don’t know. I can’t tell you how many writers send in manuscripts with poor punctuation. It is incredibly difficult to read and your editor will end up either sending it back to you or fixing it (and charging you more for it).
In my own opinion, self-editing doesn’t replace professional editing, but the better shape your manuscript is in when you hand it off, the better your book will be. The editor will be able to focus on polishing it to perfect as possible. Think of yourself as the diamond cutter and the editor as the one who polishes the precious stone. It isn’t their job to make sure it is cut to perfection. They are simply polishing it. It is your job to get your story chipped away and shaped so they can do their job with the best piece possible.
Have your own self-editing tips to share? Please add them in the comments below.
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