12 Steps To Self-Editing A Manuscript: A Stress-Free Guide

Learn how to self-edit a manuscript with these 12 practical steps, from plot and characters to pacing, continuity, grammar, and final checks.

A Stress-Free Guide To Preparing A Manuscript

When we talk about rewriting in Writers Write, delegates often go a bit pale. They seem to think that you need to rewrite a story or novel from scratch. While certain drafts do need to start their journey again from a blank page, if you have a reasonable first draft, you can follow these 12 chronological steps to make self-editing more manageable.

12 Steps To Self-Editing

1. Read through.

Print out your manuscript, make yourself a coffee, and grab a pencil. Read it from beginning to end as a dispassionate reader. Make the odd comment in the margin if something glaring pops up, but hold back from making detailed notes. The idea is just to get a feel for the global story, the flow, and the feel of it.

2. Plotline.

Now it’s time to interrogate the plot and determine if there’s enough conflict in the story. Look at each scene and sequel to see if you’ve unpacked the major story question posed by the inciting incident. As Sol Stein suggests, compare your strongest scene with your weakest scene. Decide if the weaker one can be recycled or rewritten.

3. Hero in the spotlight.

Here we pick apart the main character. A good idea is to create a character sheet. Then describe their psychological, physical, and socio-economic make-up – read this post. Make sure that every decision or behaviour they display in the story is consistent with these traits.

4. Rattle the cage for the antagonist.

The next step is to do the same for the antagonist. Make sure that they are positioned to bring out the most conflict from your main character. Nothing destroys a story like unfair odds between the hero and their nemesis. Make sure they are equally strong, if not a bit more wily than your main character. If you need to plug more into your plot, go back to step two.

5. Dust off your supporting cast.

To a lesser degree, you will do the same for the other characters in the story. While they may not need the same magnifying glass, you should make sure they’re fulfilling their roles in a vivid, lively and engaging way. A tip is to spend just 20 minutes on each character, freewriting or brainstorming ideas to make them pop. Feed these into the story.

6. Infuse your palette.

Now it’s time to look at setting. Try to put in setting detail where it’s lacking or unclear. Remove places where you’ve been overly descriptive. Make sure you’ve used as many senses as possible to bring these settings to life. Take time out to do research on places you’re unfamiliar with so that these parts of your book hum with authenticity.

7. Talk it out.

If step six asks you to look at the manuscript with a fresh eye, this one demands you bring a keen ear. Read your dialogue aloud or record it and play it back to yourself. Does it sound realistic? It should give us information about the characters – it must tease out their individuality, their background and, at the same time, move the story forward. Read plays or film scripts for inspiration.

8. It’s a sprint, not a marathon.

Now you should look at pacing. Does your manuscript have enough white space? Try to keep sentences and paragraphs as short as possible – just keep in mind that some genres allow for a more leisurely pace than, say, a thriller. If you’re getting bored reading a page, your reader will be too. Be merciless. A tip is to cut every second or third word and see if the story can survive these cuts.

9. Beginnings, middles, and ends.

Look at your first and last page side by side. If you can, try to bring in symbols, images or moods that echo or contrast each other. Find a way to create bookends that will resonate with the reader in a subliminal way.  Now go to the middle of the book – the hinge – and see if this section of the book is a powerful enough mid-point to drive the story towards its climax. It should be a false high point or false low point for the main character and reaffirm his commitment to the story goal.

10. Become a continuity editor.

Put the manuscript away for at least eight weeks, longer if you can manage it. Print out a fresh copy and look for consistency and clarity on every page, every line, in every word. Look for gremlins – a character’s eye-colour changing from one chapter to the next or someone encountering a tiger in Africa. A good way to do this is to imagine each chapter is a stage play – have you signposted your stage directions in a clear, but unobtrusive way.

11. Polish it till it shines.

Now – and only now, we might add – do you do a linear edit of the manuscript. You check spelling, you check grammar, you check that your formatting is consistent. It’s like dressing your book up for a red-carpet event – it needs to be flawless. A sloppy manuscript – no matter how promising – is often passed over for a mediocre story well-presented when it crosses an editor’s desk.

12. Find another eye.

If you have an objective friend, freelance editors, or an online community of beta readers, give them the manuscript to read and encourage constructive feedback. This is the time to put your ego on the backburner and be open-minded. Listen to what they say, take notes and see if their points are valid.

The Last Word

A first draft is where the story begins, not where the work ends. Self-editing gives you the chance to step back, question your choices, strengthen what is working, and fix what is not. Take your time, be ruthless when necessary, and remember that every change should bring the manuscript closer to the book you wanted to write.

After this, it’s time to make final checks and changes and prepare your manuscript for its final journey – to an agent, editor, or printer if you’re self-publishing. Think of your book as your 18-year-old kid going off to college or varsity. You’ve done the best you can, given them warm clothes and a stern lecture – maybe even a flurry of good luck kisses. Now it’s up to your book to stand on its own.

Are you about to edit your book? You may enjoy these useful posts:

1. An Editing Checklist For Writers
2. How to rewrite and revise your manuscript
3. Rewriting- A Checklist For Authors