So far we’ve discussed several areas in the art of self-editing our work. In the first post [Click Here], we covered letting our completed first draft cool off before revising and then reading a printed version of our manuscript. In the second post, [Click Here] we discussed the value of …
Last week, we began exploring the process of self-editing, of getting our writing in the best shape we can before sending it out to a professional editor. Notice, I didn’t say before submitting it to an agent, a publishing house, or self-publishing it. There’s an old saying from the judicial …
Part of my call as a writer is to help others through coaching, mentoring, teaching, and editing. One thing I’ve learned in my writing and in helping other writers is the vital importance of learning to self-edit. Someone said, and I can’t remember whom, “The heart of writing is re-writing.” …
In a recent blog on rewriting, I mentioned sending the completed second draft to my beta readers: Into the Pits of Rewriting. Some authors call them first readers. These are people who read the completed manuscript and give you honest feedback. They are not editors or critiquers—they are READERS. Their purpose …
On March 27, I typed The End on my latest manuscript. That’s one of my favorite parts of writing. Until the next day when I realize I have to rewrite it. I know of very few writers who can consistently complete a novel in one draft. One thing I’ve learned …
The second habit a writer needs to develop is self-editing. Whether we traditionally publish, but especially if we self publish, we need to produce a manuscript as clean and professional as we possibly can. The first step to getting our foot in the door in either realm is to be …
