An effective self-editing process for writers

You really should have at least one other person with editing experience read through your work before you publish it. But—I know—quality editors are expensive (rightfully so). If a professional editor is truly out of budget for you and you cannot otherwise barter services with talented friends or acquaintances, the following process represents the minimum level of self-editing you should put into your finished literary product. Too many grammatical mistakes or complex sentences will cost you sales.

Why is a second set of eyes a good idea? Here are some risks and challenges to self-editing your work:

• Your brain takes shortcuts, by design. When it knows what is coming, it will skip words and fill in gaps. Your brain “fixes” the world around you based on what it already knows, which means you can miss typos and omissions.
• You are too close to it. You need objectivity, but you are the words on the page. Your emotional shackles may prevent you from seeing and fixing things that matter to other people (your readers).
• Is it going to take a lot of time and effort? Well, yes. This is why professional editors deserve the money they charge: They spare you the amount of work it takes to polish a manuscript.

The only shortcut available in the editing process is to hire a professional. If you cannot afford one, I urge you not to cut corners or skip any of the steps below. Invest the time and effort and you should come out with clean copy at the end.

DISCLAIMER: I am not associated with nor do I receive any payments from any of these product or service providers. I am an artist who benefits from these technologies and resources. OK, fine—I’m also a nerd who enjoys turning what I know and learn into tutorials for writers, artists, and others with tight budgets.

Step 1: First, run it through spelling and grammar checkers. The original A.I. for writers: spelling and grammar checkers. I use two different platforms to check myself: Microsoft Editor (this app is built into Word) and LanguageTool, a web-based tool with add-ins for browsers, email, Google Docs, Microsoft Word, Apache OpenOffice, and Libre Office (so, free places you may write).

LanguageTool’s free product does have limitations (20,000 characters max) but they are easy to live with.

There are certainly other free online spelling and grammar checkers you can use; just give it a Google.

Step 2: Read it to your microphone. Yes, read it and record yourself (I use Audacity). Don’t worry about making mistakes or tripping over words (that’s why you are reading it). Feel free to pause the recording, make edits to the text, and re-record sentences as you go. Don’t overwhelm yourself editing the audio file; just read all text in the first chapter or section, and then listen to the recording as you read along. Match each sound you hear to the word you see on the page.

You will hear and see:

• flow issues, such as long-winded sentences or incomplete thoughts;
• an omitted “the” or “a” or “this”;
• repeated words in adjacent sentences;
• an “s” missing from a plural; and
• of course, whether your book sings.

Consider this time-and-effort investment an audiobook practice session, as well!

Step 3: Have your computer read it to you. Microsoft Word’s Immersive Reader includes an option to Read Aloud. This text-to-speech engine is also available in other Microsoft 365 apps. The neutral personality of “naturally speaking” A.I. readers will help you catch bad punctuation and additional flow issues. Listen and read along, just as you did with your own voice recording. Since a computer doesn’t have your emotional attachment to the content, it can also help you adjust the tone and pace of the work.

If you don’t have Microsoft Word or OneNote, you can search your favorite editor for “Accessibility” features that may include a text reader. Or, use one of the following free text-to-speech tools (there are so many options available if you search the web for “text to speech free”):

• Murf.AI – Free plan: No audio downloads. 10-minute recording limit.
• TTS Maker – 100% free web-based app with a 20,000-character limit.
• TTS Reader – Free plan: Unlimited text reading. Paste text or upload a file.

Step 4: Print a prototype. Your eyes and brain will benefit from a format change, so let’s print the content to white paper. I print a booklet to create a prototype of my books so that I can see how poems and artwork flow across pages. To print a booklet, however, your printer must be able to print on both sides of a sheet (duplex printing). If your printer does not support duplex printing, just print your book on standard letter-sized paper.

Also, you can bind booklets with an optional saddle stapler. I bought one 15 years ago and it is an amazing tool for writers to have on hand. The linked item looks identical to the one I own. Mine is heavy and durable (obviously). It was worth every penny I spent on it, and it seems to be priced around $35-40 right now. If you can’t afford a saddle stapler, you can use a standard stapler and do your best to fasten the top and bottom of the spine (they won’t be completely straight), or, stick with standard letter-size pages. Or, take a tip from my teenaged self: Use a big sewing needle and yarn to stitch the spine. Also, if you have a large book, consider printing the prototype in chapters for this editing exercise.

The easiest way to create your prototype is to download one of Amazon KDP’s templates, and then copy and paste your content into the template file. If you use the Word template, you can select a chapter heading and use Word’s Styles to immediately apply formatting. You can, of course, avoid Amazon’s template and just set up your Word document as a booklet.

Once all content flows across all pages, print the booklet. This process will vary by printer, but there usually is a layout option for Booklet within the printer’s properties.

Once you have your prototype booklet printed and bound, get yourself a beverage and sit down to read your almost-masterpiece cover-to-cover one more time.

If you make any substantial changes throughout this process or you are new to self-editing, I recommend walking through one or two of these steps one more time. You choose which, but something that reads the changes aloud would help you polish the last few nits in the least amount of extra time.

I hope this helps you put your quality work on the market! I wish you much success with your book.