You Never Get a Second Chance to Make a First Impression. 5 Editing Tips I've learned.

Hi there Insecure Writers and friends!

Some people hate the editing process, others (of which I am one) love it...er, maybe too much. When is enough, enough?

I 'finished' Fijian Princess at the end of November 2012. If you've written a novel during NaNoWriMo, you'll know that the ms I completed was pretty rubbishy...but it was an exciting story...I felt it had potential. Maybe it was going to be the first novel I actually finished...and got published. But I'm quite aware that:

"Writing is rewriting" - Eudora Welty.

I earnestly believe that you never get a second chance to make a first impression. Publishers these days don't have a big budget for editors, so they are more likely to accept a good story that has been fully edited (publication ready is the term) - it's not just finding all those typos/misspellings/punctuation/grammar errors - there are development editors, structural editors, copy editors...ever look at the list at the back of a bestseller? It certainly takes a village to write/finish a book, a good seller anyway.

Most of us do the bulk of the editing ourselves. Who can afford to pay a heap of editors? That's where critique partners, beta readers, clever editing writer friends are worth their weight in gold. And don't forget the heaps of 'how to edit' books we have on our shelves.


But we should pass our work onto a professional editor at some juncture. Before we take that step, I believe we need to pass our baby around to several readers, as often we are blind to our baby's faults. Then take criticism on the chin. Some writers say they don't use a critique partner as these people are too subjective...well, a publishing house will be subjective too - they know what readers are looking for, what's hot and what's not, what needs work...Maybe you say - "Who cares? I'm not taking any snuff from editors - I'm self publishing."

Well, the proof of your prose lies with the reader, not the writer. You want to sell that book, don't you? 

Here are a few editing tips I've learned along the way, from editors and writing books/friends. I hope they're helpful to you:

1. Allow yourself to write a 'bad' first draft. That's where the NaNo experience is great. You can't revise what you haven't written.
2. "Murder your darlings". This phrase is attributed to Twain, Faulkner, Hemingway, Orwell, Auden - but no, it was written by a relative unknown, Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch. Here is a modern-day translation: "Eliminate all words and phrases that draw undue attention to themselves (or the writer) at the expense of narrative flow." Don't let your lovely writing say: "Look at me!" instead of "Keep reading". Unfortunately (I say, because I enjoy wallowing through flowery prose and literary fiction), readers these days are too impatient to 'slow read', they want writers to get to the point -- quickly.
3. Put your ms away for a time is advice I've followed. But not too long...or you pick it up again and feel a little lost - what was I actually meaning here? Then read it out loud. This picks up so much of the lack of flow, especially if you've ignored the 'Rule of Three." (New phrase? - check it out!)
4. Don't make the choice I always make - in my rewrites I can't overlook tuning up my phrases, fixing my sentences, eliminating all typos etc. This is a mistake -- it's been referred to as "rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic." (James N. Frey). In your earliest rewrites, it's more important to have your editor's hat on to look for deep flaws in characterisation, plot, logic. Polished prose can't save a ms with such flaws. It's wasted effort. Revise the deepest, least visible aspects of your story first. Those pesky little technical errors will wait for you. Many will be eliminated in your rewrites.
5. After that rubbishy first draft, where you are advised to take off your editor's hat and get the story down -- stand back and take a look. Ask yourself: 

• What is my story about? 
• Whose story is it? 
• What is my point that I'm sharing with my readers? 
• What is my premise?
• What is my theme? 
• What moves me in my story? 

Sometimes writers, especially pantsers, need to write to the end of the first draft before some of these questions can be answered. Take some time when you've finished the first draft to let your mind meander -- otherwise you're back to polishing doorknobs to empty rooms.

Here are some wise words from Anne R Allen: '...Get that book finished—some will love it, others will hate it—but the writer keeps on writing.' {Click on her name to read the full article - excellent.)

Thanks to Alex J Cavanaugh for this monthly meme. Click on this link to read more 'stories'.

• What editing tips can you share with us? 

And in July, RomanticFridayWriters' theme is HONEYMOON. First post, Donna Hole's introduction to the history of the honeymoon on Friday July 5th.