Editors and agents are inundated on a daily basis with hundreds of queries from eager authors. The competition is fierce, so aside from having an outstanding plot and fascinating characters, your writing must be clean, tight, and enticing. For that reason, before submitting your masterpiece, I highly recommend some, if not all, the following steps for self-editing:
- Write the First Draft: First, struggle through the entire first draft (a.k.a. ‘The Vomit Version’). Don’t obsess about finding the perfect word or the perfect metaphor. That ugly first draft is merely to record your story from start to finish. There’s no need to show it to a single soul unless you choose to do so.
- Take a Break: The next step, my personal favorite, is to take a break from the sucker for several weeks (schedule permitting). This allows the author to place some distance between the words of genius and the ego. Stephen King recommends a 6-week break.
- Read Entire Manuscript: Read the manuscript from start to finish in one pass, if possible. At this point, you are examining the story at a macro level in order to create the second draft. Do not, I repeat NOT, make minor editorial changes at this time. Examine the manuscript for the following things:
- Is there a gaping hole or inconsistency in the plot?
- Can anything be chopped (redundant scenes, scenes that do not contribute to plot or characterization, even if they are your favorite)?
- Does conflict and tension build until the climax?
- Have you avoided the sagging middle?
- Does the sequence make sense?
- Can any of the secondary characters be combined into one person?
- Are parts of the story boring? If so, identify the problem and fix it–easier said than done, but generally requires new action scenes to increase the conflict, create additional crisis situations.
- Is the story plausible? If not, identify the problem and fix it (sometimes strengthening and enlarging character reaction helps).
- Re-Write (Develop Second Draft): Now re-write the manuscript to produce your second draft. Add new scenes, plug holes, fix characters, strengthen conflict, chop and cull ruthlessly. Note that at this time, try to resist the tinkering and fine tuning. The second draft is still as ugly as the first, but it (hopefully) is in shape for the final edits.
- Prepare Third, Fourth, … Final Draft: For me, this is where the fun begins. I edit using a layering approach. This involves examining each scene, one by one, using a series of filters, and making the appropriate modifications. The following is a suggestion for some filters you might consider:
- Mood (heighten)
- External, plot-related conflict (heighten)
- Internal (emotional growth & change) conflict (heighten)
- Place / time / weather, i.e. setting
- Physical presence (have characters engaged in an activity)
- Timeline (does it make sense?)
- Characterization (mannerisms, keep everything in character)
- Use of 5 senses – sight, smell, hearing, touch, taste
- Clothing / costume (dress your characters, that is, unless they are naked)
- Humor
- Ramp up heroic qualities in protagonist (based on a pre-determined list)
- Larger-than-life (have protagonists say, think, and do things they normally wouldn’t)
- Dialogue – tags, accent, is it realistic, not stilted
- Ramp up conflict (opposing goals, not bickering) in every scene
- Check each scene’s Point of View (POV) for consistency
- Adverbs: According to Stephen King, “The adverb is not your friend.” Try to eliminate adverbs by using punchier verbs
- Adjust the volume ( heighten / underplay reactions)
- Romantic relationship / sizzle – 12 steps of intimacy (eye to body; eye to eye; voice to voice; hand to hand; arm to shoulder; arm to waist; mouth to mouth; hand to head; hand to body; mouth to breast; hand to genitals; genitals to genitals)
- Sharpen end-of-scene and end-of-chapter hooks
- Incorporate sentence variety
- Remove clichés
- Add parallel sentence constructs
- Remove passive constructs
- Convert negatives to positives
- Is the prose tight? Check out http://rainbeforerainbows.com/sluggish.html for a list of words and phrases to watch out for (unnecessary words, redundant words, overused modifiers)
- Investigate every occurrence of the following words: it, as (timing), that, to be (is, was, are, be, being, am, were) and gerunds (e.g. was running), there is/are
- Remove all instances of very, causing, here, this, now, today, just
- Remove qualifiers: almost, kind of, nearly, sort of, really, etc.
- Decide what your theme is and amplify it
- Ensure the ending echoes the beginning
- Last Step – Read the Book Aloud: When you have finished editing in the last layer to your satisfaction and running Spell Check, read the entire book aloud. You will hear how your words sound and catch any awkward turns of phrase that slipped through.
