Book Editing Tips
When I started writing my first book, I thought the hardest part would be creating the plot and characters. Boy was I wrong. Coming up with a story and getting everything down on paper actually turned out to be the easy part. The difficult part came when it was time to edit my book. Though it can be a daunting task, there are some tips I have used that helped me:
- Have somebody else look it over
If you have somebody to help you with the editing process, embrace the opportunity. Since you are the author, you know what to expect. Everything will make perfect sense to you. Having somebody else read your book allows you to see if there are any passages that are unclear or if there was a typo you simply overlooked.
- Take your time
Though it can be tempting to go into the editing process with the intention of getting it over with as soon as possible, take your time. Read your book in its entirety. Fact check any references that you may have in your story. Look closely at your grammar and spelling. You never know where autocorrect may have jumped in and changed a random word.
- Read it out loud
Hearing your story read out loud helps immensely with the flow of each paragraph. You can either read it out loud or use text-to-talk for the same effect. This makes it easier to find sentences that may need to be worded differently.
- Read it from the perspective of a reader
Take yourself out of the shoes of an author. Annotate the book as if you are merely a reader. Mark your favorite passages, any paragraphs you would change, and moments that stand out to you as important.
- Detach yourself
It is important to detach yourself from your writing. Just because a passage doesn’t seem to work in your book, does not mean you are a bad writing. Be ruthless with each page. If you find that a paragraph is unnecessary, get rid of it. You can copy and paste it into a new document to reference for other stories. Being brutally honest with yourself is a great way to ensure you are sending out the best story possible.
I am in by no means an expert with the writing or editing process, but these are some tips that have helped me. I wanted to share them in case there is anybody out there in a similar position. This tips can also work for any essays and papers you need to write.
Do you have any editing tips? Let me know in the comments!
ashleyohare 
The read it out loud – also make the page width different – it’s amazing what the eye picks up when the sentences wrap at different places.
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That’s a great tip! I’ll definitely have to use that one. Thanks for sharing!
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