How to Self-Edit a Manuscript
By: Shaunta Grimes
Tags: Creativity, Editing, Productivity, Ninjabyob, Writing

You’ve worked so long on this project. You’ve poured your heart and soul into it. And maybe you just want to be done with it. Or maybe you’re sick to death of it.

But here’s a universal truth for writers: Writing is editing.

In this post, I’m going to go through some basics that will help you make your manuscript as strong as it can be.

Trim the Fat

I often tell my students that there are two kinds of writers. Those of us who write sparse first drafts and need to expand in revision. And those who over write and need to cut in revision.

I’m starting with trimming the fat, or cutting away words that don’t need to be in your manuscript, because literally every single writer needs to do this. Even if your first draft is only half as long as it needs to be, I guarantee you’ll have some words that need to go.

I always do this first, so that I have a clean, tight manuscript to do the rest of my revision on.

Here’s my favorite exercise for this task: print out your manuscript if you can, or read with a notebook beside you. Look for repetitive words or phrases. I use the word ‘feel’ too often (always), so that goes on my list. I also always wind up with ‘just’ and ‘so’ on my list.

Another word that goes on my list is ‘could.’ And I always add “-ing” to my list. I’ll tell you why in a minute.

Also highlight or otherwise mark any sentences that you could shorten.

Here’s an example.

Above I use wrote this paragraph: I’m starting with trimming the fat, or cutting away words that don’t need to be in your manuscript, because literally every single writer needs to do this. Even if your first draft is only half as long as it needs to be, I guarantee you’ll have some words that need to go.

Let’s trim the fat: Every writer should know how to cut away words that don’t belong in their manuscript. Even a spare first draft is guaranteed to have some text that needs to go.

I made that paragraph shorter and tighter. This isn’t quite as important to me, because I tend to write spare first drafts. I have the space to use more words if I think it works better for my voice.

If you tend to write very long drafts that really need to be cut down, then learning how to tighten up by cutting the fat is essential.

About those -ing verbs.

One of the easiest ways to tighten up your writing and make it stronger is to search your manuscript for -ing verbs. Almost always, if you’ve used an -ing verb with a ‘to be’ verb, your writing would be stronger with just a plain old past or present tense verb.

For instance:

‘The Senator was running for President’ isn’t as strong as ‘The Senator ran for President.’

Sometimes you can replace your weaker ‘to be’/-ing combo with a stronger verb entirely. Especially if you include an adverb.

‘I was running fast’ is not as strong as ‘I sprinted.’

Fill in the Gaps

Once you’ve tightened up what you’ve already written, it’s time to add in anything that’s missing.

Read through your newly-tightened manuscript and this time look for places where you need transition. Also, mark anywhere that you’ve told something you should have shown. You also want to watch out for thought verbs and feeling words.

Even in a non-fiction piece, your reader wants to be taken somewhere. You want to actually make them feel something, not tell them what to feel. And you want to take them to the party, not tell them all about it over breakfast the next morning.

Let’s start with transitions.

Transitions are how you move from one topic to the next within your manuscript. If you’re writing fiction, that might be going from one scene to the next.

In your non-fiction, Blog-Your-Own-Book project, transitions will be the writing that turns a collection of blog posts into a cohesive whole. Think about what you need to do so that your reader moves smoothly from one concept to the next.

What’s missing?

There may be places where you need more than a transition in your book.

Maybe you need a whole chapter. Maybe there’s some point you realize you’ve missed. This is the time to fill that gap.

One of the big dangers writers face is that when we feel done, we feel done. It’s hard to go back and say — oh, yeah, I need to do more. Our writer brains tell us that good enough is good enough.

It’s important to take a dispassionate look at your work so that, even if you decide not to do the work, you’re making an informed decision.

Read the Thing Out Loud

When you feel like you’re about done with your manuscript, take the time to do one more read through. This time, read your book out loud.

Your ears will hear things that your eyes will miss. Your brain will fill in things that it knows should be there when you’re reading. But when you read, you’ll stumble over issues.

So, shut yourself away for a while and just start reading. You should only need to make minor changes, which you might just do as you go. If you need to make larger changes, consider making notes and going back to do them when you’re done.

Get a Trusted Beta Reader

Now that your manuscript is edited, one last thing.

Seek out at least one trusted beta reader. Someone who will A) read your book carefully and B) give you honest feedback. A big thing here is being open to that critique.

If your reader is confused, if they don’t like something, if they give you hard feedback, you need to listen. You don’t have to change things. But you do need to be open to the idea.

One way to get a solid beta read is to offer to read for someone else.

Consider setting ground rules for beta reading ahead of time. Tell your reader that you want their honest feedback, but if knowing what worked is important to you, tell them that.

Once you get your edits back from your beta reader, you’ll have to go back through one last time to make any last edits.

That’s it! you’ve got a revised manuscript now. Next up? Thinking about a professional copyedit.