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Cara Malone: Self-Editing Your Novel

For AuthorsHave a finished manuscript and not sure what to do next?

Maybe you’ve just finished writing 50k words for NaNo, (if so, congrats!). You may be wondering what to do with it. Today we’re lucky to have Cara Malone, sapphic author and editor, with a guest post to discuss the crucial next step of self-editing your manuscript.

Take it away, Cara!


Self-Editing Your Novel

You finished the first draft of your novel – sweet, that is an amazing accomplishment! It’s something that many people dream of, but you actually went ahead and did it – take a second right now and congratulate yourself on being a bad ass.

Okay… what next?

If you’re planning to publish, your next move likely involves editing – on your own, with the help of a professional editor, or a combination of the two. And if you’re new to novel-writing, this is probably about the time that you start looking around for a paper bag to hyperventilate into. 

It can feel overwhelming at first, but editing your novel is a task you can accomplish… and dare I say, enjoy?

In this two-part series, I’ll walk you through your first set of edits, tell you what to expect when working with a professional editor, and give you tips on how to get the best edit possible, whether you’re going it alone or teaming up with a pro.

The First Pass: Self-Edits

Many authors like to let their novel sit for a little while – this can be anywhere from days to months – to gain a little distance from the project. When you return to it, you’ll be able to see it with fresh eyes and a greater appreciation for your hard work – rather than just seeing all those nit-picky little problems that kept piling up while you were drafting.

Whether you plan to fully self-edit your manuscript or pass it off to an editor, a ‘first pass’ is a great idea to identify major issues and smooth out the editing process. During this round, don’t worry about proofreading issues. Instead, focus on the big picture and look for issues like:

  1. Continuity errors – a good developmental or copy editor will catch these, but if you fix the obvious ones, when the manuscript goes to your editor they’ll be able to dig deeper to root out less obvious problems
  2. ‘Insert love scene here’ – hey, sometimes you just don’t feel like writing a particular scene and it gets skipped during initial drafting; don’t forget to go back and add it now
  3. Tie up loose ends – any notes you left yourself during the writing, research you meant to do or additional scenes for character or plot development should be added in now
  4. Tighten the prose – whether it’s saying ‘actually’ far more than is actually necessary or turning our characters into bobbleheads that are constantly nodding, we all have writing quirks; do a quick find-replace on your most commonly repeated words to free up your editor to point out bad habits you’re not even aware of – fun!
Do I Really Need An Editor?

Whether your command of English grammar is ironclad or you’re just so excited to share your book with your readers, it can be tempting to skip professional editing. Here are 3 ways a professional editor can take your book from good to great:

  1. Even spelling bee champs can be blind to errors in their own work – it happens to the best of us, so it always helps to have someone else catch these errors
  2. We all have idiosyncrasies in how we communicate – what sounds clear to one person may cause another to scratch their head, and an editor can point out any phrasing that could pull readers out of the story… a great one will even suggest alternatives!
  3. Similarly, an editor can point out areas for improvement – from frequent repetition of a particular word (‘just,’ anyone?) to distancing words (‘she felt like’) and any number of other small style tweaks that will result in stronger prose

Ask any author, indie or traditionally published, and they will say that editing is an indispensable part of the process, no matter how you choose to go about it. But what if you’re just not ready to work with an editor?

Before you publish, don’t forget to:

  • Use the spell check built into your word processing software – simple, but often overlooked!
  • Try a more robust grammar and spelling checker like Grammarly (available online for free up to 10,000 words at a time) or ProWritingAid (available online or as a plugin with your word processor, $20/month or $399 for a lifetime license)
  • Read your work out loud or use text-to-speech to listen to your book – changing how you read it can help you catch more errors
  • Ask a trusted friend or reader to beta read for you to look for issues – authors sometimes team up to trade beta reading services in lieu of working with a professional editor

Next week, Cara will be back with an article about working with a professional editor.

About the Author

Cara Malone Photo You may know me as sapphic romance author Cara Malone.

I also edit fiction and nonfiction over at Happy Ever Author, with a bachelor’s degree in English and ten years of freelance editing experience. I use my experience on both sides of the aisle – as both an author and an editor – to tailor my services to indie author needs.

Find Cara on Twitter or Facebook.

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