Self-Editing:
What to Look Out For

Self-editing is a smart and necessary part of the writing process, but it can’t replace a professional critique. Think of self-editing as tidying up your house before guests arrive, while a manuscript consultant is the one who notices the cracked window, the loose stair, and the wiring you didn’t even know was faulty.

The End Is Only the Beginning

Writing “The End” upon completion of your first draft is only the beginning. Now the arduous task of making your manuscript conform to the standards of traditionally published books begins. Yes, even if you self-publish, you’ve got to make your published book comparable to store-bought books.

When you self-edit, you’re working with a serious disadvantage: you already know what you meant to say. Your brain fills in missing words, glosses over awkward phrasing and forgives plot holes because the story lives in your head. Even the most careful writers simply can’t see their own work the way a fresh, trained professional can.

A professional critique brings more than sharp eyes. It brings experience: knowing what readers expect, what commercial publishers reject, and what weakens a novel’s credibility.

That doesn’t mean self-editing is pointless. On the contrary, it’s essential. Cleaning up obvious mistakes, tightening sentences, and clarifying your ideas makes your manuscript stronger before it ever reaches a consultant. But self-editing works best as preparation, not as the final step.

Manuscript Critique Versus Self-Editing

A manuscript critique focuses on the major components of a novel, such as:

• Pacing: Does it consistently maintain the reader’s interest?
• Characterization: How well does the author really seem to know the characters and how effectively is their development reflected in the text?
• Structure: Does the story begin at the best place? How effective is page one?
• Resolution: Does the author provide a clear, concise, satisfying conclusion?

The purpose of page one is to
convince the reader to read page two. The purpose of
page two is to convince the reader to read page three,
and so on.

These are only a small sample of major issues detectable only by an experienced manuscript consultant.

In the end, however, self-editing and professional critiques aren’t competitors; they’re partners. One helps you become a better writer while the other helps your book become a better reading experience. And if your goal is a novel that feels polished, credible, and ready for serious readers, there’s simply no replacing a professional critique.

Self-editing and proofreading also go hand-in-hand. Following a thorough SpellCheck, proceed sentence by sentence, paragraph by paragraph, looking for punctuation errors, words that don’t fit or should be replaced by something better.

Self-Editing Issues to Look Out For

• INDENT: Legal documents are not indented. Neither is web text indented, but fiction always is! Indent all paragraphs at least two spaces. Better yet, check out the format specifications of the publisher you’re targeting and format your entire manuscript, including margins and indentation, to their liking.
• DIVIDE LONG PARAGRAPHS: Long paragraphs are not eye-friendly nor easily readable. They resemble legal text, and who wants to read pages that look like a contract? Generally, a page should contain at least two full paragraphs, preferably more. Divide long paragraphs into two or more.
• PLACE DIALOGUE IN SEPARATE PARAGRAPHS: Never present the dialogue of more than one character within the same paragraph. Dialogue is always set apart in separate paragraphs for each speaking character.
• QUESTION MARKS: Make sure that questions, in both dialect and narrative, end in question marks.
• MULTIPLE PUNCTUATION: Never use combinations of punctuation or repetitive punctuation at the end of a sentence, such as “?!” or “???” or “!!!” Only one will suffice. Multiple punctuation is commonly used in comic books but rarely in actual fiction.
• WORD REPETITION: Don’t repeat the same word or words in close proximity to each other.
• ELIMINATE EXCESS CLUTTER: Eliminate words that contribute nothing to a sentence’s meaning. Otherwise, your work may appear amateurish and will instantly stand out negatively to industry professionals. These words are just extra baggage.
• EXCESS PUNCTUATION: Look for excessive punctuation of any kind. For instance, too many exclamation points (!) stand out negatively. Eliminate most of them.

Rewriting Is the Key to Any

Author’s Success

There’s a huge difference between self-editing and rewriting. The former involves checking grammar, structure, punctuation, etc. but rewriting means taking each individual sentence, each paragraph, and revising, polishing it, to make it the best that you can.

Truman Capote, one of the most gifted authors of our time, once said that writing without rewriting is only typing.

Yes, self-editing is a must, but don’t forget the importance of rewriting. It can mean the difference between success and failure.