Editing Systems for Non-Editors

Hi guys - got a question this morning.

After you've done your first draft, do any of you edit your own stuff, maybe before you send to the professionals?

Got any good systems for doing so?

I have one I've been using, but I'd love to hear any other ideas other people might have for cleaning up a WIP before other eyeballs see it. Thanks!

My first manuscript was an editing nightmare, basically I sent it to an Editor before it was ready. My plan for my next novel is as follows:
1. Let the manuscript stew for a while and then read it and make any changes.
2. Check the grammar and style is as good as I can get it, for this I will be using Pro Writing Aid and SmartEdit.
3. Send it off to beta readers.
4. The amount of re-writing will depend on the feedback. If it's major I will probably return to Step 1.
5. Send it off to an Editor.
6. Depending on the type of Editor I choose, I may also send it to a proofreader before it goes for submissions or printing.

I try to clean it up as best I can. But my editor still finds thousands of errors.

I search for telling words (end in ly etc.). 'When, could see, to, are also good one to look for. Filter words like felt, saw, heard, etc., since I usually write single POV. Freeloader words (that, very, quite...) I have a huge list I search for. Its not that they are bad, but they may help to pinpoint other issues, and an editor won't necessarily look for these things. They're just polishing my turd of a MS

In addition I'll look for words I tend to repeat, and attempt to clean up dialogue and descriptions. My editor fixes all my tense issues. I'm horrible at it. I'm also horrible at general grammar rules and my editor will have to rearrange a sentence here and there.

It's best not to get too carried away. These aren't mandatory rules someone should follow. If the sentence sounds ok to my ears, I won't change it. I can get so carried away that the sentence will not sound any better after all my effort, and will probably violate some rule or another.

I'll catch plot inconsistencies on the multiple read-through's. I edit immediately after finishing the draft. I like the story to be fresh.

But the more I correct the easier it is for my editor to find other things. And the more I write the easier it is for me to catch these things on the fly.

My process goes

Rough draft
Let it sit
Review
Inflict in on writing group
Review
Let it sit
Line edit
Send to betas
Review
Let it sit
Line edit
Editor
Follow requirements
Copy editor

No tricks just space and time.

Edit as I go, re-reading what I wrote the day before.
Finish, put to one side for at least 2 weeks, usually 4.
Re-read, editing as I go for 'small' mistakes.
Get beta-reader opinions, see which make the most sense (usually me hitting my forehead, going 'Doh!')
Re-write.
Get writing group input.
Re-write/edit again.

Very similar to what has been written here - the combination of endeavour, blind revisionism and more objective editing to get there in the end, and on occasion the help of software to highlight the obvious:
1st draft - getting the story down to see if it works
2nd draft - finding what works, jettisoning what doesnt and getting a story out of it
3rd draft - weeding out the superfluous and mistakes
4th draft - honing the language
5th draft - proofing, and then filtering through an online program called ProWritingAid for stuff I've missed
6th draft - editor comes back to me with a gazillion changes and I tear my hair out before fixing a double-whiskey and setting out on yet another draft.
Tend to take 4-6 week gaps between each draft to lend some objectivity to the process, which helps to stop that 'baby being thrown out with the bathwater' malarky.

VinceK said:

6. Depending on the type of Editor I choose, I may also send it to a proofreader before it goes for submissions or printing.

Click to expand...

Okay, that begs another question. Types of editors? Do editors specialize beyond genre and fiction/nonfiction?

DZara said:

Okay, that begs another question. Types of editors? Do editors specialize beyond genre and fiction/nonfiction?

Click to expand...

I've used two Editors, neither of whom I'd used before. The first provided a more literary overview, voice, style, readability, pace, structure etc. Also, how best the manuscript could be prepared for submission. The second Editor also gave feedback on readability, but took a more technical approach and concentrated on grammatical issues. On reflection the second Editor provided more of a copy editing service.

This blog from @Jennifer L. Carson addresses differing editing types well:

JoZebwrites: That's What Editors Are For