Editing: You may wonder what value it brings to your writing. In a word: tons. This post explains the reasons why editing makes you a better writer. Good writing, no, great writing is the result of great editing.
When you work with an editor, even if that editor is you, not having to worry about syntax, typos, and misplaced modifiers means you’re free to just write. And if you are sitting down to write anything, especially large projects with required word counts like a book manuscript, that’s your goal. Write, write, write until your book, blog post, articles, novel, or poem is completed.
Then, and only then, put it aside and come back to it with a clear, fresh mind for editing.
You can do the first few rounds—the obvious, low-hanging fruit of mistakes. Again, the typos, the awkward syntax, the uneven voice of your protagonist, the incorrect words in a sentence that you line edit to clarity.
You go away again, and return. What pops out as wrong, awkward, or boring? You edit again, moving sentences around to create new paragraphs, replacing one word for a better one.
It seems done. But is it? You notice that you stray from the topic in chapter one, and return to it in chapter two where it all belongs so you merge the text. There, now your chapter flows and lays out your information in a logical way.
This is where an outside set of eyes and expertise comes in: you hire an editor, or entrust your grammarian roommate to take a look. And editors do.
You then take a look when she’s done, and wow! So, so much better! All of the typos are gone and there’s a consistency in the grammar and choice of words. You writing flows and makes sense. It sounds eloquent. It sounds like your writing, only better.
This is what editing does—it takes your jumbled message, your words, and your thoughts, and molds it into a readable, better piece of writing.
You may have noticed that I described several things editing does for your work—it corrects typos, smooths out syntax and uneven dialogue of your characters, moves words and paragraphs so they make better sense—these changes fall under several different editorial titles: developmental editing, line editing, copy editing, and proofreading.
Follow me for a few days as I describe what roles each of these editors has and why what they do is important for your writing. If you are new to book writing and planning to independently publish your book, you may be thinking about how much it will cost to hire all of these editors.
I will address that issue, too, so you can make the best use of your skills, some online tools, and the skills of a professional editor while not breaking the bank.
So, let me know—how well do you edit your own work and have you used the help of a professional?