How to Self-Edit your Manuscript
This post is about editing your own writing at the sentence level (copy editing and line editing).
Previously, I wrote about successfully proofreading your own writing. Proofreading is a different skill from copyediting. Proofreading only happens once all the other levels of editing have been performed, and the manuscript has been fully revised. Only then, do you (or an editor, preferably) proofread by meticulously looking through the text to make sure every word and piece of punctuation that is on the page is supposed to be there and that a crucial mark isn’t missing.
On the opposite end of the editing spectrum from proofreading is developmental or substantive editing. This level of editing looks at the overall structure of your work and big picture elements such as story arc, character development, plot holes, and more. Writers should work with critique partners, editors, and alpha readers to suss out those elements.
This post assumes you’ve already done that work.
When you’re editing your writing at the sentence level, the goal is to make it more powerful. Every word needs to pull its weight. Oftentimes this kind of editing requires clearing away the clutter—filler words, clichès, and filter words. Sometimes it requires adding sensory details or balancing descriptors.
Here are a few ways you can self-edit your manuscript to make it stronger.
Cut filler words. You can think of filler words as weak modifiers: just, really, definitely, so, even, exactly, such, at all, anyway, very, certainly, and some. The writing is often stronger when these words are cut.
Cut filter words. They reduce the impact of a manuscript and can separate the reader from feeling intimately connected to a character. Filter words include seem, feel, believe, wonder, look, assume, watch, notice, and realize. If you’re not familiar with filter words, go down that rabbit trail on Google for awhile, then search your manuscript for them.
Check for passive voice. Most often, active voice is going to have a stronger impact. It also helps tighten the prose and improve the pacing.
Listen for clunky phrasing. Once you’ve cleaned out a lot of the clutter, listen to the wording of your manuscript. Read it aloud or have the computer read it aloud. This will help you find awkward phrases that need to be reworked for better flow.
Vary sentence length and structure. Do most of your paragraphs consist of long winding descriptions? Readers can get lost in the weeds with these lengthy sentences. Use a variety of sentence lengths to keep the reader moving along. Be sure to also vary the way your sentences begin.
If all of this is starting to sound overwhelming, take a deep breath. And take the editing one step at a time.
I’ve created a free checklist (with many more tips on self-editing) which you’ll receive as a free download if you sign up for my newsletter emails. (I won’t spam you. I currently only send out a monthly newsletter with resources like this.) You can sign up using the form at the bottom of this page. Once you have the checklist, go through it step by step to make your manuscript stronger.
Kudos for take action to tighten your writing. Your work should have a stronger impact on your reader by the time you’ve finished your self-edit.
Don’t want to go through the minutia of the editing? Hire me. Follow this link to learn more about my rates and process for copy editing and line editing.