10 Top Tips & Ideas for Editing

If you’re a new writer or just interested in the editing experiences of fellow writers, we thought we’d put together a few ideas that work for us. From the ‘of course’ to the offbeat ideas, maybe there’s something new in here for you to try when it comes to the edit stage?

1. Print It

If, like most writers now, you are writing electronically, then much of your editing will be done on screen. This brings its advantages of course. However, at a second or third draft stage, we found it particularly useful to print the entire manuscript and sit down with pen, pencil and highlighters. It’s surprising how many new things jump out when looking from this different perspective.

2. Think Like a Reader

It’s really hard to cut sentences and sections from the writing you've slaved over for months. But readability and pace is really important. Elongated scenes, flowery language and repetition can be frustrating for a reader. Be brave and get those shears out to make sure that your writing is efficient, relevant and exciting.

3. Read Everything Aloud

If you have dialogue, it's useful to read it out loud. If the words are meant to be spoken, then speak them! See how it sounds — does it seem natural for the way your character would speak? While the dialogue needs to sound right being read aloud, the technique can be great for just hearing how your story sounds. Reading the entire thing out loud to yourself gives you a whole new perspective on what you’ve written. It’s almost like hearing someone else read it. Plus you can pretend to be recording your audio book!

4. Get Someone Else to Read It

It may be an obvious one but it’s so useful — if you can find the right person to help. Close friends and family might be willing volunteers but the key is someone who will give constructive feedback. Of course, it's a confidence boost to hear that someone likes your work, but it's more beneficial to identify what works or what could be better. Share early so that feedback isn't being given on something you think is perfect. You'll find it easier to take the advice onboard and your early reader will be more honest if they know it's a work in progress.

5. Imagine Someone Else Reading It

Whether it’s before or after you actually get someone else to read it, just imagine your story being read a friend, colleague or family member. Try to make it someone close to your target audience. What would they make of your character, your plot twist or your choice of vocabulary? Pick a random section from your book and a published book in the same genre that you know they like. How does your writing compare?

6. Look Out for Repetition

As writers, it’s common for us to fall back on some oft-repeated words and phrases. It's part of our writer's voice, but it can be jarring and boring for readers. Keep a close eye out for oft- repeated words and phrases (see, it's annoying right?). If you do spot one — and you are writing electronically, try using a ‘search’ or ‘find’ tool for how many more occurrences you have. You can then consider alternatives where they might be relevant.

7. Take a Break

Easy. All writers love breaks. Yes, sometimes there is too much break time and not enough writing time! But, stepping away from the Work in Progress, doing something else, looking back with some fresh eyes — it’s always likely to have a positive impact. Now, as for how long that break needs to be… you decide!

8. Change Your Font Size

This one might seem odd but has a nifty little advantage to trick your brain. Sometimes when you read, your brain sees what you expect to be there — rather than what’s actually there. This is especially true of your own writing that you have read many times over. It might mean some little words or punctuation marks are accidentally missed. When everything is in the same physical place on the page, this is even more true. By changing the font size, it just nudges words into different physical locations on the line or the page. Even when line breaks occur in a different place in a sentence, it can help spot obvious grammar errors.

9. Make Draft Copies

It's helpful to know you have an original or ‘back-up’ version of your work. Then you can dive into the editing, knowing that if things go awry there’s always the previous version to return to. You might feel more free to make edits and changes and just see how they work out. Making a new copy for every stage of drafting and editing can also help you to see the progress you have made.

10. The Final Stage

At the final stage - particularly if self-publishing - make sure that last copy/line edit is done after your manuscript is fully formatted. The formatting can often throw up an occasional difference in the look of the text so check for indents, paragraphing etc. Check for consistency in headings, use of italics, use of inverted commas or other correct punctuation. Things like hyphenated words can catch you out as well as speech marks and you’ll be amazed how many double spaces you accidentally insert! The same principal of ‘changing the font size’ might also help you spot something you hadn’t done previously.

If you’re looking to invest money in an editing tool then there are loads of great ones such as Grammarly and ProWritingAid. Free trials can be really useful to find the right one for you.

At each draft stage and at the end, know when to stop. You could keep editing forever. At some point, you've got to take the decision to be finished and sign it off!

If any of these ideas were useful to you for the first time, let us know. If you have any other suggestions, we’re always learning and would love to hear them too!