What is editing?
For a first time author, editing may feel like a daunting task.
If you’re anything like me when I started out, you might find yourself lost in all the various processes and stages of editing.
- Developmental edit,
- Copy edit,
- Line edit,
- Manuscript critique,
- Beta reading,
- Proofreading, etc.
Sometimes every stage is required and at other times one or two may be skipped.
So, how do you choose what works for you? What is editing, anyway?
In basic terms, ‘Editing’ is a process of refining a creative composition—be it written or visual—for a target audience. Depending on the medium and the industry, editing constitutes various other processes, goals and technicalities.
Let’s keep it simple. In this article, I will be covering only manuscript editing for indie authors or self-published authors.
The Editing Process
Devon has put together a great article outlining the 5 main steps involved in editing. I highly recommend you to check it out and get a fair understanding of what you can expect as well as prepare for once your first draft is ready.
The Editing Process by Devon Gambrell on Substack.
Preparing Your Manuscript
In my experience, editing polishes your first draft into the final version of your manuscript/book that will reach the hands of your target reader.
But is it enough to just send your very very very raw first draft to an editor and wait for their feedback? Many authors and editors might say, no!
I would definitely say, no! First drafts are great. You’ve written a full book; you’ve hit your target word count; you’ve created a story in the form you wanted, etc. But is it really ready to show to others?
First things first! Let’s understand where you’re at.
There are 3 broad overlapping stages you need to cover before sending your draft off to the editor.
- Alpha Reading
- Self Editing
- Rewriting
Alpha Reading
This stage literally involves sending your very very very raw first draft to a friend, family member, or a critique partner.
You can read more about critique partners in my article. Critique Partners: A Beginner’s Guide
Alpha readers will not give you any professional or in-depth feedback, but they can tell you whether your story works or not at the outset.
- Does the storyline hold interest until the end?
- Do the characters speak to the readers? (or does the reader relate to the characters?)
- Is there a tangible premise and does it work?
This is not an exhaustive list of questions for alpha readers, but it covers the basics. From here on out, you can start refining your story.
Here’s my secret. My first and favourite alpha reader is—ME!! I like to read my first draft out loud to myself and get a sense on which paragraphs or pages to keep and which to delete.
This little exercise—that may seem extremely simple—helps me to move on to the next stage. Self-editing my manuscript is the key to refining my story.
Self Editing
If we think of the first draft of our manuscript in terms of a pencil sketch or line drawing of a painting, then self editing becomes the next step—the clean up.
Here, we cover the basics—
- Grammar
- Sentence structure
- Typos or missing words
Often at this stage, we can jump back and forth between self editing and alpha reading to get real time feedback with an aim to improve the overall story.
So how do you do self editing? There are a number of online tools available for self editing. Here are some tools that I have used my own writing projects.
- Prowritingaid.com
- Microsoft Word (or any Word Processor)
- Reedsy Editor
Prowritingaid.com is a popular online tool for self-published authors. It has a reliable grammar and spelling checker, live analytical reports and a plagiarism checker. With the free plan, you get limited usage but it meets basic self editing goals, provided your ultimate goal is to hire a professional editor.
Microsoft Word (or any Word Processor) has an inbuilt spelling and grammar checker. I recommend using it in combination with prowritingaid or other online tools to get the best results.
Reedsy Editor is a more of a formatting tool than an editing tool. It’s completely free and stores your projects online. When your work is ready, it allows you to export it in various ebook formats, too.
Here’s a list of other online writing tools/softwares you can check out—
- Scrivener
- Final Draft
- Ulysses
- Plottr
- Pages
- Storyist
- Atticus
- Novlr
Rewriting
Another stage you may need to go through, before your manuscript is ready for the editor, is rewriting.
I know it sounds like stressful work. But rewriting is an optional stage and depends heavily on alpha reader feedback or your self editing goals.
Personally, I keep a goal of 3 rewrites—
- Second Draft
- First Edit
- Third Draft
If I need to rewrite beyond this, I usually end up scrapping the original plot or storyline and write a new first draft.
The Editing Process
Like I mentioned before, Devon has published a very useful article on Substack on the 5 steps involved in editing your work.
The Editing Process by Devon Gambrell on Substack.
If you are serious about working with a professional editor, then this article is a good reference for you to understand what steps your manuscript needs and how your editor can help you in each step.
The All Call Indie database lists such freelance editors who can offer you the best editing packages based on your book’s requirement.
What does an Editor not do?
An Editor will NOT –
- offer free manuscript critique (might be offered as an add-on for a separate fee)
- offer free proofreading for your manuscript (might be offered as an add-on for a separate fee)
- offer free beta-reading for your manuscript (might be offered as an add-on for a separate fee)
- plagiarise your story idea or writing content
- make unfair or unethical comments on your work
Professional editors, proofreaders and beta-readers make up separate parts of your editing process.
To learn more
Check out the following blog posts on All Call Indie.
- The Editing Process
- Beta-reading: Yes or No?
- Critique Partners: A Beginner’s Guide
- Cover Design: A Beginner’s Guide
- How to Budget your Book Launch
Disclaimer: All Call Indie does not charge any kind of fees for connecting authors to freelancers or any commission from freelancers for their services. It is only a database for authors to refer. All discussion related to services should be kept confidential between the author and the freelancer.
C Phillip’s official website & blog 