Editing Tip

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3 Self-Editing Tips to Catch the “Little” Things

I’m opening up sales for my all-new product, “The Complete Self-Publishing Toolkit: Easily Format & Publish Your Book for Print & Kindle” so I wanted to bring you a few editing tips.

When I was in the middle of editing one of my books, “Pitch Your Tent: A family’s guide to tent camping” I paid special attention to the “little” things that can mean the difference between a professional manuscript and looking like an amateur.

See if you can spot the problems:

  • Most public campgrounds in have paths between sites to the bathrooms, trash, etc.
  • When the sun begins to sweat you’ll get a chill.
  • Fist Aid Kit
  • I recommend packing in a duffle big.
  • And never underestimate the importance of a pair of slip of shoes.

None of the sentences (or chapter headings) above have any grammatical error that will be caught by a spelling or grammar checker. It’s up to a real editor who carefully reads each sentence to find them.

So how do you spot things like this in your own writing?

1. Read the manuscript backwards. I start with the last sentence (reading it from start to finish). And then the second to last sentence; the third to last sentence, etc. By reading the manuscript this way, I’m able to focus on one sentence at a time and my brain isn’t “assuming” it knows what will come next.

2. I print out the entire manuscript, grab my tea and red pen and go to town. Looking at the project in a different format really causes errors to jump out at me.

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Getting Ready to Publish Your Cookbook – 5 Self-Editing Steps

Cookbooks are a ton of fun to write! And they’re a great way to convey your expertise in any of the health or healthy eating fields. Even with more and more recipes being online, cookbooks are still being purchased and used – especially cookbooks that are around a single topic or theme.

You want your readers to have a great experience with your cookbook – it’s not just about yummy recipes, it’s about creating a literary culture that they enjoy.

During these 5 editing steps, you’ll want to do the step to the WHOLE book. Then do the next step. Yes, that means (at least!) 5 read-throughs of your book, but it’s been proven to be a more effective way of editing – rather than editing each recipe for ALL things and then moving on.

Here’s what you need to do:

1. Standardize how you’re listing measurements
During a read-through of my first cookbook, I found that I used the following:

  • tablespoon
  • Tbs
  • TBS
  • Tbsp.

That’s four different ways to say the same thing! Decide on one standard format and will be keeping it the same throughout the book. (And using the same format for cup, pound, and teaspoon, etc.!)

It doesn’t matter what you’re using, but it needs to be the SAME for all instances in the entire book.

You can use a find & replace function to help you make this standard but you need to check EACH and EVERY place you say it – not use the “replace all” function.

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5 Self-Editing Steps for Your Writing – Before Calling in a Pro

I make no secret of the fact that I think ALL books need to be professionally edited before publishing.

Yes, even yours!

But there are some things you can (and should) do before hiring a professional editor.

5 self-editing tips for your #book Click To Tweet

1. Step away from the project

Have you ever noticed that when you re-read your writing after a week (or a month) away from it that typos, grammar or spelling errors, clunky sentences, etc. just LEAP off the page at you?

It’s because your brain isn’t telling you what you KNOW should be there but is showing you what’s actually on the page. Kinda nifty, right?

Whenever time allows, step away from your completed project for a week or more. Then come back and re-read with fresh eyes to catch what was hidden before. In a perfect world, I’d say give yourself 2-3 weeks of “rest” before editing it again; in the real world we rarely have that much time.

021616-Edit2. Grab your red pen and kill a tree!

Set your manuscript up to be double spaced and 12 pt font – then print it out! (Single sided, not double.) Grab a cuppa of your favorite beverage, your red pen, and go to town. At this stage, you’re not looking for commas (the details) but for the broader strokes in the manuscript that might not be working.

And yes, really do print it! Your brain will see things differently on a paper than on screen. Plus, you can’t get “lost” on your computer (research, Facebook, etc.) as easily when you’re not on your computer!

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Self-Editing: Can You Really Do It?

In last week’s class for Backpack Your Book, I talked about when (and how!) to hire a professional editor. Even though I work as an editor for others, I KNOW that it’s impossible to catch every single mistake…

111715-EditsAnd some “mistakes” are really a matter of preference or perception. Like the Oxford Comma!

But the question is, can you really self-edit your manuscript?

Yes…

And no…

There’s a lot you can do to catch things that need to be edited. Especially when it comes to grammar, spelling, or punctuation. But for structural problems, flow, and things not making sense, it’s always a good idea to have a second set of (trained!) eyes.

Let’s see how good your editing skills are! See if you can spot the problems:

  • Most public campgrounds in have paths between sites to the bathrooms, trash, etc.
  • When the sun begins to sweat you’ll get a chill.
  • A fist aid kit is a must for any camping trip; you just don’t know when you’ll get a splinter.
  • I recommend packing in a duffle big.
  • And never underestimate the importance of a pair of slip of shoes.
Three tips for #editing your #book. Click To Tweet

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Saturday Editing Tip: Inch vs. Inches; Foot vs. Feet

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I’m in the last stages of publishing a highly-technical manuscript for a client. As part of my standardization, I have to make sure that the way the author expresses units of measure is not only consistent but also verify that it should be expressed as a singular or plural unit of measure.

Before this project, I honestly didn’t give much thought to the difference between “2 feet” and “2-foot” or “10 inches” and “10-inch.”

Here’s a down & dirty way to remember:

The singular, with a dash between the number and the singular form of the measurement, is used when you’re talking about a unit of measure. For example, a 10-inch section of board or a two-foot gap.

The plural is used when you’re talking about how many. For example, space the nails 10 inches apart.

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Saturday Editing Tip: Catching the “little” things

As part of my Assisted Self-Publishing services, I offer a round of comprehensive editing. This editing covers grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Here’s a quick grammar tip for your Saturday!

I’m in the middle of an edit on my next book. The working title is “A Beginner’s Guide to Tent Camping”. This edit is still for major issues like adding in a whole section and clarifying paragraphs. But as I do this, I’m also looking for the “little” things that can mean the difference between a professional manuscript and looking like an amateur.

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Saturday Editing Tip: Affect vs. Effect

As part of my Assisted Self-Publishing services, I offer a round of comprehensive editing. This editing covers grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Here’s a quick grammar tip for your Saturday!

 

Affect vs. Effect

I’m sure that every English teacher everywhere has a catchy way of remembering the difference between affect & effect. But, when I was in school, it wasn’t considered “in vogue” to diagram sentences, focus on parts of speech (noun, verb, adjective, etc), and spend much time on those little nuances of grammar that I’ll use my whole life long. Like the difference between affect and effect.

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