Tips on Editing a Draft Manuscript

Critique Yourself!

May 27, 2009 Stephanie Williams

There are plenty of ways of editing and everyone has their own preferred method.

What is important to remember is that any suggestion can be adopted to suit the purposes of the writer.

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Sending out sample chapters to friends, critique groups members and even family can be a valuable start to the editing process. In many cases it is a misconception that family always carry bias. In a lot of circumstances a family member can be the most honest! Ask a relative to read a few of the opening chapters, if they ask for more then you know you are onto a winner.

Often if there is a local critique group there will be someone in that group who will be willing to read the draft manuscript in return for a similar favour. They are usually experts at critiquing and will give you honest feedback and highlight any glaringly obvious errors.

Nothing is Perfect the First Time Around

Remember that nobody ever wrote a novel that didn’t require editing! Some people reread their manuscript several times and never correct all the errors but at least on the third edit it is inarguable that it will be better than the first one.

Some people don’t believe in correcting typographical and grammatical errors on the first read through. This is nonsensical – why waste the opportunity of making these amendments as and when they are spotted? If more are made in the editing process… well there will be future edits to pick up on those. Don’t waste any read through, correct anything that stands out as an error as and when it crops up.

Be Ruthless!

A lot of the time writers are extremely precious about what they have written. Cutting out a paragraph can feel like removing a limb! What should be taken into consideration is that by tightening up the text there is still room to add anything extra. Often some brilliant additions come to a writer during the editing process. An extra side to a character that wasn’t glaringly obvious when writing the first draft or a clue which could be hidden in an earlier chapter to build up the tension.

Long waffling chapters are often found in first drafts. A writer is, as obvious as this may sound, making up a story as they go along. During the editing process there will almost certainly be whole paragraphs which can be the victim of the chop. If it serves no real purpose then take it out!

Relish the Opportunity

The editing process is not the boring after thought. It doesn’t have to be seen as a job lacking in glamour. The writer still needs to be present and correct! There are opportunities to be grasped in every read through. A character that was once just peripheral may make a bid for stardom. How often has a book contained an okay protagonist but an amazing side kick? There may be a hidden gem somewhere in the novel just waiting to be discovered.

Once a writer types the final line on the final page it is time to take a breather, clear the mind and then go back to the first line on the first page and start all over again.

There are many ways to edit, hundreds of writers have hundreds of different methods which work for them but the most important thing to remember is that it simply needs to be done and it doesn’t have to be a chore!

The above piece together with the first article on editing, are suggestions that work for a number of writers that have been consulted.

The copyright of the article Tips on Editing a Draft Manuscript in Writing Fiction is owned by Stephanie Williams. Permission to republish Tips on Editing a Draft Manuscript in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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