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Manuscript EditingManuscript editing, or rather editing your own manuscript, is a must in writing. Editors will not accept a manuscript that has not already been edited tight. That means you either pay some bucks to have your story edited or you learn to do it yourself. Probably a bit of both for beginners. Don't let that scare you off though, however. There is far too much information on the web today to sweat this hump in your writing career. If you have not already read the writing tips pages or if you have not visited the writing rules pages first, please do so now before moving on. If you are ready, let's talk about the hair-pulling experience which is editing! Edit the manuscript when...
When your story seems to just lie on the page, it's time to prune...a lot. Than again, you probably need to edit it anyway. There is always plenty to prune in a novel. But what should you prune? A. Run-on sentences or sentences that try to make more than one point but should really be broken into two sentence because it's hard to get a point when you are reading and there is more than one point to a sentence or you keep saying the same thing over and over in the same sentence like I just did here. B. Scene information or (Backstory) that we don't really need in that moment. EXAMPLE: Jessica knew she needed to quit thinking about her cozy little cottage in the glen, surrounded by all that heather and roses. She needed to get the paperwork over to the presidents office for approval before he left for the day. C. Prune scenes that serve no practical purpose. If it does not move the story forward...Prune it! You need to remember that not everything you write, needs to be read. Sometimes you write things only to prune it later. Why? because YOU were the one who needed the information. Also If your sentence has more than 27 words without a really good reason...Prune it! No sentence should be longer than 33 words unless it is listing several items.
...Your pacing or rhythm is not right.Verbiage is the culprit of most manuscript ills. Too many words weigh down a story, causing your reader to have a skim fest. To find your pacing or rhythm problems, try reading your manuscript out loud. Notice I said out loud not in your head. It is also easier to pick up pacing problems while reading to a group of friends. Find out more about creating an Editing Circle. ONCE AGAIN, THIS SITE UNDER CONSTRUCTION. ...You've received a rejection letter.Once again, if you haven't read the page on receiving a rejection letter, than do so now and come back here when you are finished....Anytime!Let's face it, we all need to do our manuscript editing on a regular basis. If you haven't done so in the last 3 months...do it! You learn far too much in a few weeks to let that knowledge go to waste. When you last put that manuscript away, you probably thought it was wonderful and really ready...but now you can come at it with a fresh eye and see all the flaws that need to be edited. Shoot, we even find all kinds of flaws on this website when we go back over it from time to time so...go on...get that story out and do that manuscript editing now.
Professional Editing ServicesNow that we have talked about how you can edit your own manuscript, let's talk about the professionals.Professional editors can be a wonderful resource. However, we must caution you against their sole use. Every writer should understand the manuscript editing process especially in this day and age. Publishing houses do not have the time nor the resources for extensive editing of manuscripts. If you do choose to go with a professional than use their editing services as the last line before submitting to a publisher and only after you have finished editing yourself. Return to the top of Manuscript Editing.
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