But even 20 years ago, publishers had (mainly) gravitated to being “printers”, in that they no longer provided their authors with editing services – perhaps a proofread, but authors had to edit for themselves and/or hire freelance editors to ensure their novels reached full potential.
And
now we have ePub.
We
have technology and communications that have reduced the editing fees of
freelancers by more than half (think MS word ‘track changes’ tools rather than
printed-out manuscripts edited redline style; e-mail rather than snail mail). Nowadays,
editors can provide a good (much faster) service for as little as $10-15 per
thousand words if the manuscript they deal with is in reasonable shape.
Reasonable
shape.
Which
is why self editing is important even if you intend to employ an editor to
polish your work – the quotation you receive will be in direct proportion to
the time the freelancer estimates it will take to complete the work. Also, the
end result will sparkle more brightly as a consequence.
And even if you are still at the plotting stage, the tricks and tips you will learn in the series will be well worth reading before you begin to write (prevention is better/easier than cure).
And even if you are still at the plotting stage, the tricks and tips you will learn in the series will be well worth reading before you begin to write (prevention is better/easier than cure).
Of course, many writers cannot afford an editor, but that
doesn’t mean their end result will suffer unduly – the trick is to learn to
think like an editor; learn the artifices and apply them (invisibly) to your
work.
Which is the object of this series. I will format the advice
in the same style as one of my old favourite books written for authors who
intend to self edit: Self Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave
King. Twenty years on, and the book is still the best all-round guide for new
authors, in my opinion.
Introduction.
Firstly, please remember that the guidance given comprises general principles only; there are no rules to writing but it pays to know the general principles before deviating from them as an experienced writer.
Are you ready to edit? This is the most important question.
Are you ready to edit? This is the most important question.
“Do I feel happy with it?” is the first filter to apply.
In a perfect world one would put the manuscript away for at
least a few months and peruse it with fresh eyes. But perhaps that’s not
viable, maybe the premise will be out of fashion or whatever – things move so
much faster with ePub.
Did you rush the ending? I’m asking this because over the
years I have encountered a lot of rushed endings. You know who you are – now go
back and fill it out properly…
Have you tied up all loose ends? Look, I invested a lot of
time at Uncle Ernie’s bedside after he dived in front of that bus to save the
MC – you could at least tell me what happened to him…
Once these questions are addressed, you are ready to move on
to the next (more informative) article: the good old “Show not Tell”, although
with a more flexible approach than that of the Style Police.
Thank you for reading this article.
Other Self Editing
articles:
Self editing 4 fiction #7 ~ Interior MonologueSelf editing 4 fiction #8 ~ Master of the Beat
Self editing 4 fiction #9 ~ Sophistication
