Tips for Editing

 

A few days ago, I started working on the final round of editing for Truth before I format the manuscript for print. I’ve been getting so much enjoyment out of it and keep finding myself surprised by how much I am discovering to change or add. Because of this, I wanted to share some of the editing tips and resources I’ve been using.

 

First, I printed the entire manuscript. On paper, it is entirely different, and it makes it much easier to spot things that should be changed. I definitely suggest doing this.

 

Also, read it out loud. I will have read all of Truth aloud to myself by the time I’m finished. Like reading it on paper, reading out loud really shows you where your flow might be off or if you’ve used the same word too often in a paragraph.

 

And finally, here is a very helpful website I recently discovered: Edit Minion. Paste in a selection of the story, and it will highlight things such as adverbs, weak words, and passive phrases. It will also give you a report on how well you’ve done with the chapter as a whole, showing you what areas could use work. I’ve found this website to be especially helpful in spotting too many adverbs in a chapter. Every time I finish editing a chapter, I check it with this site.

 

 

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