Hi, lovely writer!
I’m always fascinated to read about other writers’ creative processes, so I thought I’d share my self-editing process with you. I won’t waste your time with a long, drawn-out intro, except to note that this my own self-editing process and not intended as editorial advice. What works for me may or may not work for you, so please take the following with a pinch of salt – apply what resonates, and ignore anything that doesn’t 🙂
Step 1 – As soon as I’ve completed the first draft of a novel, I set that manuscript aside for a few weeks and occupy my time with a completely different literary project. I find that this tends to create enough ‘distance’ from the manuscript to allow me to return to it with a fresh perspective.
Step 2 – Next, once I’ve stepped away from the project for a time, I’ll upload it onto my eReader or smartphone to read in a different format to how it was written (i.e. I’ll read it anywhere but my laptop). Although I’d prefer to print out the full manuscript to edit by hand, that isn’t cost-effective or practical (I don’t have the shelf space to print out every draft of each book I write!). This step helps me approach the manuscript as a reader instead of a writer, and I’ll make notes of any major developmental changes needed as I read through the story.
Step 3 – Following that first read through, I usually make story-wide developmental changes and check the overarching story elements fit together nicely (e.g. checking for plot holes, high level character development, consistency of settings, etc.). I’ll then take another break, this time for a few days to a week, to give myself space from the manuscript and, again, allow myself to approach it as a reader instead of a writer (I’m more inclined to axe terrible scenes, storylines, and characters while wearing my ‘reader hat’!).
Step 4 – By this point, I’m usually done with developmental edits (though I have been known to repeat the developmental editing phase to the point an original story is unrecognisable…). So this is the time I usually move on to copy editing. Hopefully I will have fixed all the glaring story errors and plot holes by this step, which allows me to move on and focus on checking for any grammatical errors, typos, minor inconsistencies, etc.
Step 5 – You guessed it, I take another break from the manuscript to work on a different project for a week or so. Then, I transfer the manuscript to my eReader or smartphone again and work through any remaining copy edits.
Step 6 – When the copyediting is done, I’ll move on to the proofreading stage; though by this step, I’m pretty much ready to hand my manuscript to someone else to read through, because I’ll be ever so slightly annoyed about failing to notice the typos that have managed to evade capture across several rounds of edits.
And, just in case you’ll find it helpful, here’s a small selection of the reference books I use to help me through the various phases of the self-editing process:
- New Hart’s Rules: The Oxford Style Guide by Oxford University Press.
- Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody.
- Story Genius by Lisa Cron.
- The Story Book by David Baboulene.
- The Chicago Guide to Copywriting Fiction by Amy J. Schneider.
Hope your literary ventures are going well 🙂 To find out more about the projects I’m currently working on, please visit Dannika Writes… to discover the latest updates.
Best wishes,
Dannika <3
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