From PBS:

If you are self-publishing, then proofreading your manuscript is a really challenging task — and you’ll kick yourself if you find a mistake after you’ve told everyone about the book. No matter how many times you’ve read through your work, it’s amazing how often errors can sneak through to the final stages. The problem: You’re so familiar with the text that you see what you think you have written rather than what you actually wrote. For this reason, at the very least, it’s good to ask a few friends to help you proofread.

Don’t forget to carefully proofread the cover, copyright, and title pages as well as any indices, tables of contents, and dedications — mistakes in these areas happen surprisingly often.

So, short of hiring a professional proofreader, what else can you do to make sure your book is as close to perfect as possible? Here are some tips.

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2. Look at your weaknesses. Do you regularly misspell or repeat words? Do you make particular grammar or punctuation errors? If you are aware of these weaknesses, take extra care to search and spot them.

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4. Try proofreading backwards! To spot typographical errors, read your work from the end to the beginning, either word by word, sentence by sentence, or paragraph by paragraph. This disconnects your mind from the content and helps you focus on the text. Particularly useful for checking the cover.

Link to the rest at PBS

From editor Susan Gottfried on the amwriting blog:

Think about these words and phrases:

• Suddenly

Usually used in a battle scene, but pretty much any sentence that starts with suddenly can lose that opener. Generally, what happens is that Suddenly, the man in the room, the one in the battle stance, jumps! There was no warning! It was sudden!

Uhh… hate to break it to you, folks, but if Character Z is facing an opponent, ready for battle, both he and the reader are going to be anticipating motion and movement. If it’s anticipated, it’s not a sudden thing. See how that works?

. . . .

• from where

As in: He moved to the opposite side from where the door was. Oh, I hate that one, and I’m from Pittsburgh, where we say this and worse on a daily basis!

How about He moved opposite the door. Or He moved into the room, across from the door.  You’d be amazed at how many better choices there are once you start thinking about them.

• obviously

I actually love this one. He could see her obvious surprise.

We all know that golden rule of writing. No, the one after write what you know. The one that says show, don’t tell.

You’re not showing me her surprise. You’re telling it. My favorite comment when I see this goes something like: It’s not obvious to me! Show me what makes it obvious to him.

Link to the rest at the amwriting blog

From AuthorCulture:

Periodically on whatever writing loop or group I belong to, someone asks everyone else whether to use “Mom” and “Dad” in the narrative for the deep third POV character, or “his mother/mom” and “his father/dad.”

It seems like such a complicated question. You want your third person POV to be as deep as possible, climbing under the skin of your main character and showing the reader his world and experiences through his eyes. So, if he calls his parents “Mom” and “Pop,” then perhaps they should be “Mom” and “Pop” throughout.

I have to admit, that never really set well with me, and recently I figured out why.

. . . .

I rarely if ever think or speak of myself as “Linda.” I use the first person pronouns. But when writing in third person, we have no choice but to put in that distance where the character “calls” herself by her name. “Cheryl tried not to make Mommy mad.” It seems odd to me that, as the reader goes from paragraph to paragraph, she will call the main character by her name, but the MC’s parent “Mommy.”

Link to the rest at AuthorCulture and thanks to Eric for the tip.

From Bryan Thomas Schmidt:

At some point or another, all writers have to consider whether or not their manuscript could use an editor. For most pros, that’s not even a question. I’ve used editors on all novels since the beginning and all of them have brought great benefit and growth to me as a writer in improving my work. As I grew, I started editing myself and have been editing freelance since 2009.

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1) Independent Editors are your friends. Our job and living come from helping writers make their work better, the best it can be. It’s the passion that brought us to freelance work and the risks inherent in that, and it’s what keeps us coming back for more.  We are not acquisitions editors looking for a reason to say no. We are not motivated by favoritism and we are not out to crush your dreams. We want your work to sparkle, and we’re thankful you’ve given us the opportunity to help.

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4) Independent Editing Takes Focus and Time. Editing is detail oriented. You want someone to read carefully and consider the big picture of the manuscript, not just each page individually, but as a whole. You want the editor’s notes to reflect that. Because it’s difficult to do line and copy edits and developmental edits simultaneously, that means we may need to read your work more than once. That takes time. Because it takes focus, we often can’t edit multiple projects simultaneously. We need to keep our head in the game of your manuscript. So when  you’re our current project, all of our focus is on yours. That means, until we’re done editing your work, we aren’t free to work for anyone else. You pay us to make time and do it right. Editing is not where you want to be cheap, folks. Professional editors at publishers get paid very well per hour. Most freelancers make much less. Keep this in mind next time you complain about how expensive independent editing is.

Link to the rest at Brian Thomas Schmidt

From The Editing Company:

“Nothing has ever shaken my editorial self as much as this comment did. It came from an influential editor from a successful publishing company who was telling me about what to look at when considering a book. The advice had little to do with the uniqueness of the work, the style, the quality; instead it was all trends, what was in season. And then I was told to consider the appeal of the authors themselves—including their appearance.

From Behler Blog:

So you’ve signed the contract, the ink is dry, and now your book is in editing. Yay! Welllll…maybe. There are times when authors will have  differences of opinion with their editor, and this can either go well or make you want to mainline Drano. Let’s face it, there are few authors who agree with every suggestion their editors bring up. Ten years in the biz has afforded me all kinds of experiences in the editor chair, so I thought I’d offer some perspective that may help you when your manuscript is under the bright lights.

Is It OK to Disagree?

YES. There have been many times where I felt something wasn’t working, and recommended it be edited out, and the author didn’t agree with the suggestion…and there’s nothing wrong with that. On more than one occasion, I’ve had authors write back to say they were very married to a section I wanted to cut. We talk about it and reach some resolution. Sometime it turns out that the scene is a key piece, but simply needs further development.

I’m good with this because I can’t appreciate the importance of a scene if it isn’t fully developed. But if you disagree with me, we can talk further to where I may see that cutting a scene would be the wrong thing to do. If you’re too nervous to say anything, then your book may suffer for it. You know your book and its intent better than anyone, so you are its best advocate during the editing phase.

. . . .

Trust Your Editor

A loaded bullet, to be sure. Most of the time you don’t even know your editor, so how do you know if she’s any good? Simple. You have faith in your publisher. You’ve read their books (or you darn well should have), so you have a solid idea of their quality. It’s vital that you trust your editor because theirs is the final word. The better you work together, the better the product.

I had an odd experience a few years back. I wanted to sign an author, and she wanted me to sign her, so we met for lunch. Her book was very good, but it definitely needed a strong editorial hand. When I discussed this with her, she became very protective because she was terrified that editing meant completely changing her work into something unrecognizable. I assured her that this would not only be a huge waste of our time, but there would be no point to sign her. Her agent reinforced my claims.

She was still nervous, and I decided not to sign her. If she’s this nervous now, before we even begin editing, what is she going to be like once we begin the process? It boiled down to the fact that she didn’t trust me. Then again, she wouldn’t trust anyone – and that’s a dangerous position to be in. If you have designs on being well-published, you’re going to need to place your trust in your editor. Talk to her, discuss the kind of edits she has in mind for your book. There is nothing worse than working with an author who doesn’t trust you.

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Justify Yourself

Whenever I edit a scene out, I justify it in the margin comment, so the author understands my reasoning. If you want to fight for a scene or character, or backstory, then you need to justify it to your editor. “Because I really love it,” won’t fly. Won’t even float. You need to provide a solid foundation as to why you’re fighting for something to stay in. If your editor tells you it slows down the pace and doesn’t move the chapter along, then you have to justify why that isn’t the case.

That doesn’t mean she’ll buy it. Her word is final, so if you have a compelling reason for keeping something in, you gotta make sense. If you can’t, then your editor will probably rule against you and toss it. If so, let it go.

Link to the rest at Behler Blog and thanks to Julie for the tip.

From Ruminating On:

I’m going to go over the dos and don’ts of working with an editor. I’ve had my first taste of a bad editor (this person has no connection with Red Adept Publishing) and feel I’ve finally formed an unbiased, dual-sided opinion to share with everyone.

. . . .

The difference between good and bad editors can be summed up in one sentence, and that sentence is this: Bad editors rewrite your work for you, while good editors make you do all the work. It really is that simple. A good editor knows the value of voice and will not disrupt the style of an author because they think they can say it better. I’ve been working with my editor long enough that she can mimic my voice, but she still gives me the option of rewording her additions. But, more often than not, she makes me rewrite the poor verbiage myself. If ever you find an entire sentence deleted in your work, or a new one added in, take a step back and question it. Why is it there? Does it sound like your narrator? Does it sound like you? No matter the answer you arrive at, look for some kind of explanation in the editor’s comments. You should find something like, “Feel free to reword,” or, “Something like this.” A bad editor will rewrite, take away, or add text without explanation. That action pisses me off to no end. I write in a certain tone no matter what I’m working on. I use metaphors and similes to describe things. That’s just what I do. Dear Bad Editor, you don’t see things like I do, so stop trying.

. . . .

Content editing is a personal favorite of mine. As an author, I only see what the story tells me. I’m blind to what could have happened because, in my head, that’s how it happened. I love being shown other possible scenarios.  Remember this little piece of advice because it’s true: It takes a village to write a good book. My stories tell themselves, but sometimes, they need massaging. A good editor will find plot holes and give you suggestions on how to fix them.

. . . .

#1. Never say this to an editor: “My readers will get it.” Okay,douchenozzle, what do you think your editor is? I promise you that they are most definitely “a reader”. How do you think they edited your piece; by osmosis? Get over yourself. If they have expressed concerns about the plot, flow, or necessity of something, someone else will too. You might (strong might there) get away with not changing the issue, but do you really want to take that chance? I know I don’t. So I listen.

Link to the rest at Ruminating On and thanks to Imogen for the tip.

From author Virginia Ripple:

I’m stuck in the writer’s cave right now with yet another round of edits. It’s tedious and often boring, but, considering I’m not sure I’ll have enough money later to hire a professional editor, it’s worth it. That’s why I’m doing this round with free editing software.

Using software to help you edit your manuscript isn’t an easy cheat. You’ll still need to do the work of re-writing and you’ll still need your beta readers. However, editing software can make self-editing a little less worrisome.

There are a lot of different online options, both paid and free.

Paid versions

If you’ve got the money, you might be interested in AutoCrit Editing Wizard. I didn’t find the demo useful because the 1,000 words I chose always came back with an error. That could have been because my WIP is a fantasy with mages and magical cats who use incantations the software couldn’t read. If that’s the case, it makes me wonder just how useful this software is in its full version.

Also, in order to use AutoCrit for more than just 1,200 words per day (that’s 400 words 3x per day) and receive more than 3 reports, you have to spend a lot of money. There are 3 memberships: Gold (1,000 words for $47), Platinum (8,000 words for $77) and Professional (100,000 words for $117). You get more goodies  the more you spend, but if I’m going to spend that much money for my WIP I think I’d rather hire a human being.

Link to the rest at Virginia Ripple

From author Dave Bricker:

 After completing the final draft of a manuscript for my fifth book, I wanted a reality check. I hired a professional editor and learned something important about self-publishing. No matter how capable you are as a writer and proofreader, you can’t accomplish your best writing entirely by yourself.

My initial editing process was hardly ineffective. My latest book is a memoir of my sailing adventures from the 1980s and 90s. I rounded up a capable crew that included people who were there, people who were college writing instructors and people who were simply avid readers. I sent them one chapter (1500-2500 words) per week for almost a year (so as not to burden anyone with a huge job to do gratis), and offered to edit their material in return. I got useful feedback about everything from seamanship to grammar along with their general reader reactions. The collaborative process also forced me to polish each chapter before I sent it out; I usually spent a few hours rewriting before posting the week’s installment on Google Docs and sharing it with my group. That unquestionably improved the book.

. . . .

At the end of the group editing process, I had a tight draft manuscript approved by a tough piece of software and some people I’m convinced are bona fide geniuses. Still, I had this lingering doubt; I wanted my book to be great—better than anything else I’d ever produced.

. . . .

I decided to hire a professional editor. I began my search at the Editorial Freelancer’s Association website, threw a few darts at the map and took a trip to Steven Bauer’s Hollow Tree Literary Services. The general tone of his site and the testimonials from previous clients sold me.

. . . .

Your aspirations are important information to give your editor. Polishing a manuscript to a high standard of literary excellence and preparing a manuscript for acceptance by a particular market segment are not necessarily the same task. Know your goals, or at least have an experienced editor help you choose them. I told Steven that his job was to “protect my manuscript from me.”

. . . .

Publishing is not an art rendered in a free medium. As with hiring a professional graphic designer, hiring an editor may turn your do-it-yourself book project into an expensive undertaking, but if your goal is to sell books, editing costs are part of your business risk. If your goal is to produce a great work of literary art, at some point, you’ll need to buy the bronze from which you’ll cast your sculpture. Even if you’re an experienced writer, a professional touch will make the difference between a good book and a great book.

Link to the rest at WGB and thanks to Bridget for the tip.

5 Reasons Why I Read Indie Authors, by Wodke Hawkinson at the Find a Good Book to Read Blog:

“I still have my favorite traditionally published authors, the ones with famous names and recognized publishers. But lately, I have been devoting my reading time mainly to indie authors, those of the self-published or small press variety. And here’s why:

“1. Accessibility. Indie authors are usually very friendly and happy to exchange messages online with readers and fans. If you are an author as well as a fan, they are some of the most generous and supportive people you will ever meet, often helping you get the word out about your own books and stories.

“2. Quality. Indie authors get a bad rap about quality. I’m the first to admit there are some poorly edited books out there, but overall I have been very pleased with my purchases of indie books. (Besides, I’ve spotted quite a few typos in traditionally published books. Mistakes are not exclusive to indies.)”

Read the rest here:  Blog – Find a Good Book to Read.

– Julia Barrett