With the self-publishing
market matured and the early “easy money gold rush” days contracted, I’ve been
seeing more posts in online author groups about belt-tightening and ways to minimize
overhead in order to maximize profit. This is a valid concern for small
business people, which is what self-published authors are.
Toward that end, some authors
have turned to a churn ’em and burn ’em book production schedule of faster,
shorter, and cheaper books. To keep the volume high and the costs low, one of
the suggestions sometimes made to such writers is to ditch editing.
To which I, a freelance
editor, say—do it!
…If you can.
As an editor, I adore clean
copy and beautiful, powerful prose. But as an author, I know that STORY is the
One True God.* Everything else exists in service to the story. Cover
art, blurb, marketing—none of that matters as much as the story itself. Editing
doesn’t matter either…except where not editing gets in the way of the
reader’s eager consumption and enjoyment of the story.
So, if you are a newer writer
or a more experienced writer making adjustments in a changing marketplace, how
do you decide if editing matters to you?
If you are in command of your
plot and characters and can objectively review the last draft for its strengths
and flaws, you might not need a content or developmental editor. (Although you
might if you are pushing yourself to the next level.)
If your grasp of grammar,
syntax, tenses, spelling, punctuation, and a thousand other nitpicky points of
writing is professorial—not to say perfect—you might not need a line editor or
copyeditor. (Although you might if your writing speed or focus would be
improved by not nitpicking.)
If you can search’n’destroy
every typo… Well, you’re fooling yourself. J Everyone needs a proofreader.*
Editing isn’t a necessary
evil. It’s not a rite of passage for a newbie, to be escaped asap. It’s not
even a way for editors to pay rent. (Okay, it is partly that!) The purpose of
editing is to smooth a path from the author’s intent to the reader’s
interpretation so that the story shines as clearly as possible between you.
For writers who want to
self-edit—whether to try to save money or to sharpen their storytelling craft—I’ve
put together an editing highlights reel. These are the elements of editing that
I consider most important and that writers seem to struggle with most often. This
covers the three stages of editing: 1. big-picture developmental or content
editing, 2. mid-level line editing or copyediting, and 3. polishing or
proofreading. This is not a complete list, and if it still seems like a
lot…well, it is a lot!
And that’s why some writers
work with editors. J
Self-Editing Checklist from Red Circle
Ink
Let yourself forget the story
and come at it cold.
Rewrite the cinematic tagline
of your story as you know it now.
Re-read your story as a
first-time reader, keeping the revised tagline in mind.
Start with big-picture re-visioning
of conflict, character, and cadence:
Conflict evaluation: Is you plot (i.e.
stakes and consequences)…
…Clear
…Instantly
relatable
…Deeply
personal
…Compellingly
dramatized
…Escalating
to a satisfying conclusion
Character
evaluation:
Core personality (relatable and
interesting)
Goal, motivation, and conflict
Character issue (wound)
Fear (holding back, driving forward)
Purpose (want vs. need)
Growth arc (sequential steps of change)
Moments of change (linked to plot)
Cadence
evaluation: (pacing)
Master scene list with rising
tension
Gray pages
Varied length (of chapters, scenes,
paragraphs, sentences, even individual words)
Refine mid-level
issues: Do you have clear and compelling…
…Emotion—Have you moved the reader?
…Point of view (the characters’ and
yours)
…Worldbuilding (fresh, coherent, and
evocative)
…Setting and timing (continuity)
…Theme
Polish line-level
issues including:
Create
unique character voices with character-specific imagery
Evoke a
sensory experience with the full range of senses
Limit filter
words that put the reader at a distance
Leverage
power positions (beginnings and ends)
Punch
up dialogue and internal monologue
Tackle word-level
copyediting after everything else is “perfect”
Amplify
power words—strong verbs, specific nouns, evocative adjectives
Avoid clichés
Be
aware of your darlings
Proofreading: “Last”
pass
Change the font. Print
it out. Read backward. Read aloud. Have your computer read to you.
The one rule*:
Be compelling. The
story matters most. All editing serves the flow of story.
You can find the
one-page Red Circle Ink Self-Editing Checklist here:
https://redcircleink.com/writing-and-editing-philosophy/one-page-self-editing-checklist/
* Anytime I write in
absolutes, please just assume we all know That One Exception. If you are that
exception, how nice for you!
***
Jessa Slade writes paranormal romance and science fiction romance as Elsa Jade. She launched Red Circle Ink developmental editing services in 2013 as another outlet for her love of story and to better understand what works in storytelling and why—as impossible as that may be! Since then, she’s worked with dozens of authors in many genres and won awards for editing. Please note that she does not always practice what she preaches, and as always with writing advice, YMMV.
