6 Things Almost All Writers Get Wrong When Self-Editing

As an editor, I observe authors repeating errors.

No, not plot or character development. I’m referring to sentence structure and word choice in your content. But they become angry if they observe frequent novice blunders.

Believe me, more than one publishing expert has tossed a book due to amateur errors like passive voice or misuse of adverbs.

Here are six ways I’ve seen authors fail:

1. They try to edit as they write

The portion of your brain that creates scenes, characters, and stories are fundamentally different from the part that edits. This will cause you to lose momentum, which is why many authors never complete their books.

Don’t bother about deciphering every word. Don’t berate yourself if you employ a cliché to convey a creative notion. Getting your narrative out of your head and onto the paper isn’t an issue if you “tell” rather than “show.” All of it may be fixed in the edit mode.

So, for your first draft, simply write. Allow yourself to make mistakes and trust that you will be able to correct them later.

2. They try to do everything at once

The first chapter is well written, with tremendous images and situations. The second chapter is less polished, and then it goes all downhill. The previous chapter made no sense! Recognize it?

Very common. It is a joyous process for writers. They scrutinize every word and every… then they lose interest.

If you’re a creative person, editing may be tedious. So, instead of attempting to fix everything in one go, I propose tackling one problem at a time.

For example, your first round might be Adverb Annihilation:

Look for adverbs in your writing from start to finish. Adverbs are fine in theory, but they are often misused to amplify a boring verb. If you are guilty of this, change the uninteresting verb to something better.

She hastily took the phone from him.

becomes

She snatched the phone from his hand.

Once your brain is tuned for adverb substitution, you will be shocked at how rapidly you can go over your text, strengthening it. In your next edit, search for instances of passive voice and make it active when applicable. Then consider sentence length: which phrases might be cut or broken into two to make them clearer?

And so on and so on, one issue at a time, from top to bottom.

3. They think technology is cheating

We hear this all the time:

If you need to use an editing tool, then you shouldn’t be a writer at all.

Sadly, we disagree. That if you’re going to be a writer, you should know everything about writing. While learning grammar and writing skills is important, it does not enable new writers to practice and learn “on the job”. We constantly hear from teachers who say that when they ask their students to use editing technology (like Grammarly and ProWritingAid), they develop their writing skills faster.

Technology should allow you to perform what you always did, but more efficiently. For example, while looking for adverbs, you may go over each phrase one by one. Or use a tool to highlight them all. The outcome is the same, but which is faster?

Technology may be beneficial in different ways. You may not be aware that you used the phrase “she couldn’t believe her eyes” seven times in your short narrative. It’s a lot! Your reader will likely notice and be puzzled. You don’t want to drag your reader out of your story’s universe. To provide additional diversity, an editing program may evaluate your content and produce a list of every repeated word.

4. They forget to ‘unglue’ their writing

Long, flowing sentences that cram numerous concepts into one place. You know, the sort you have to read twice to grasp? These “sticky sentences” are easily identified by their high number of glue words.

Again, you can certainly discover these phrases by hand, but it is more efficient to utilize an editing tool to highlight them.

5. They don’t cut out the clutter

Everything in your paper must have a purpose. Beautiful words are useless if they don’t convey vital information or advance the tale.

Examine your work for cluttered areas. Let’s look at an example:

Example 1:

It is our opinion that the problem first began due to the fact that a sufficient amount of hollow tubes for the experiment were not produced by the company.

Example 2:

We think the problem began when the company did not produce enough tubes for the experiment.

These sentences both say the same thing, but the first one is full of clutter. Here are the problem areas:

1. “It is our opinion that” is a much more convoluted way of saying, “We think”.
2.  It is redundant to say that something “first began”. The word “began” already means “first”.
3. You can replace “due to the fact that” with the much simpler “when”.
4. “A sufficient amount of” is a cluttered way of saying “enough”.
5. Tubes are always hollow, which means that the word “hollow” is redundant.
6. The passive voice means “the company” is right at the end of the sentence, delaying its meaning and lessening clarity.

We’re not saying dumb down your writing. Your thoughts should be as clear as possible, therefore avoiding prepositional words is acceptable. Readers may overlook important information if they must use mental energy attempting to understand your wording. (If this is a major issue for you, skip the self-edit and employ a line editor!)

6. They don’t take time away

After finishing your first draft, take a break. Fresh writing is difficult to evaluate. You see the notion you wanted to convey in your words… even if it isn’t there!

Editing also provides your creative brain a respite. Spending a few weeks copy-editing will revitalize your tale. You’ll be able to spot plot gaps clearly.

Want to improve your self-editing skills? Take the time to explore Editing 101.