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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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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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7 Self-Editing Tips For Non-Fiction Writers

As part of what I do as a publisher, I also offer editing services. And while having an editor is completely invaluable there are things that the writer needs to do to get the most from an editor’s services.

041514-EditingTips

1. Know your bad habits

If you read my writing, you’ll see that I have my own little habits. One of which is using a word all in caps to give it EMPHASIS. And while this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it’s more common to either display the word in bold or italic. Another bad habit I have is the over-use of ellipses, especially where they aren’t needed. (Or parenthetical phrases!)

So recognize your bad habits and then keep an eye out for them. Are you using them properly? Is it the best way to convey emphasis?

I’m not saying that you have to stop using your idiosyncrasies in your writing but you do need to know when to drop them in favor of a more consistent form.

2. Buy a style manual and use it

When I was in college, a writing professor told me I had no clue how to use a comma. I whole-heartedly disagreed with her but agreed to get a grammar cheat sheet use to make life easier. Turns out, she was mostly right. There were a lot of times where I was using a comma that didn’t really call for it. But there were other times where I inserted a comma to break a thought or phrase into pieces. (I was studying poetry so I had much more leeway.)

But don’t just assume that you remember all the grammar rules from elementary school. To this day, I still double check usage when I’m not sure.

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