5 Steps to Self-Editing Your Fiction Novel

Being an independent author is hard because you have to pay for everything yourself; you
never know whether youll be able to pay for a dream vacation to Europe with your profitor
have to take out a second mortgage to cover the expenses. We all know there are some awful
Indie novels out there, so what can you do to make your novel one of the good ones? How do
you make sure your book will sell? The best way to ensure success is to have a good plot,
compelling characters, and few grammar and punctuation mistakes. In other words, you need
editors. Unfortunately, paying several editors to work on your novel can cost a lot of money. To
minimize the costs, you can self-edit your books before sending them to an editor. Using the
following five steps will simplify the self-editing process.
1. Let the Novel Sit
The phrase let your novel sit sounds a little clich, but its true. If you go back to edit your
novel right after finishing it, you wont notice the faults and the inconsistencies because your
brain will automatically correct them. You know how the story is supposed to be and how the
characters are supposed to feel, so thats exactly what youll read. To combat this bias, dont
touch your novel for about a month. If youre pressed for time, still wait at least a week. When
you come back, the story wont be as fresh in your mind, and youll be able to more clearly see
the storys faults.
2. Jump into Content Editing: Do the Plot and the Characters Work?
Once youve let your story sit a while, read through the novel as quickly as you can. Ignore the
little grammar mistakesyou want to focus on the big issues right now. This stage of editing is
called content editing: at this stage, you want to think about global issues. Think about the plot
line. Does it have a beginning, a middle, and an end? Is there a crisis the characters must face?
Does the book have a strong climax? Have you dealt with all the loose ends? Is the conclusion
satisfying for your readers? If you answered no to any of these questions, its time to rewrite.
Lets talk about how to tell the story. Preferably, your story should be complex enough to
have at least two plot lines (a main plot and a subplot) happening at the same time to keep your
readers interested. There are several strategies to tell multiple plot lines, but the most commonly
used one in fiction is a parallel plotline. Perhaps your main character is involved in a quest that is
the main plot, but at the same time, we read about the main characters sister and her life in a
subplot. Inevitably, the two plots must eventually meet, and the subplot will have some bearing
on the main plot. In our example, maybe the sister learned something and is at a certain location
as a result of her subplot; her knowledge and her location then make her able to help out the
main character in the main plot. Multiple plots mirror real life, so including more than one plot
makes the story more believable and draws the reader in.
When developing the different plot lines, make sure your story is showing, not
telling. Youve probably heard this phrase before, but its a difficult concept to grasp. The idea
is to avoid telling the reader right out what has happened in the past or what is currently
happening, as well as avoid using -ly adverbs to tell the reader how your characters are feeling.
Refer to these events through the characters internal voice, through the characters reaction to
events, and through dialog. Itll take more time to tell the story, but showing instead of telling
will make your story more interesting.
After fixing those large plot issues, look at what perspective you have used to tell the
story. Is it first person, third person, or omniscient? Whatever the point of view, make sure its
consistent. Most fiction authors use third person (although first person is often used as well). A
common mistake that fiction authors make when writing in third person is to switch from one
point of view to another within a scene. Often, this kind of switching leaves the reader confused
as to who is doing and feeling what in the scene. For third person voice, the story should be told
through the point of view of one character in each scene. If were telling the scene through
Marys point of view, we can say Mary was happy, but we cant simply say Sarah was
happy because without seeing things through Sarahs point of view, we cant definitely know
that she is happy. To get around this problem, we can say something like Sarah looked happy
or Mary could tell that Sarah was happy. Of course, sometimes switching point of view in a
scene can work, but its generally a bad practice.
Next, think about the background information you gave the reader at the beginning of the
book. Is the information thorough enough that the reader wont be confused and decide to stop
reading? On the flip side, is the information so thorough that the reader gets bored and doesnt
make it past the first couple pages? Only give the necessary information and then continue
adding information throughout the story as its required.
Additionally, make sure your scenes and characters have enough detail. As before, give
the necessary details at the beginning of the scenes and add detail as you move forward. For
example, lets say I describe my non-viewpoint character as being short and having red hair. At
one point in the scene, someone says something that scares this character. I might write
something like, Her freckles stood out on her white face. Now the reader knows she has
freckles. In addition to spreading out details, make sure you arent simply listing characteristics
because that gets boring fast for the reader.
Now consider the following questions about your characters. Do the characters feel real?
Do the characters have weaknesses and strengths? No character is perfect, but keep in mind that
you main character shouldnt have so many faults that the reader thinks he or she is stupid
(unless you want your character to be stupid). Also make sure the characters have motivations
for their actions. Whenever a character does anything, he or she must have a motivation, even if
its not explicitly stated in the text. Maybe you know that your character has a hard time saying
no to requests, but the reader wont know unless the novel hints at that aspect through the
characters thoughts and actions. In each scene, think to yourself, Would this character react this
way? Why? If you can answer these questions by thinking of characteristics that are described or
hinted at in the book, then youre golden.
Generally, the characters need to have changed or learned something by the end of the
novel (except perhaps in the case of straight action stories). Static characters are a sure way to
drive away readers. Think back on your story. What flaws have the characters overcome? What
have they learned? What do they still have to overcome and learn? But make sure the characters
arent perfect by the end of the book either because not only is a perfect character hard for
readers to relate to, but a perfect character doesnt allow for another story beyond the book,
whether its a sequel you actually write or a story that only exists in the readers imagination.
Now for the most important question in character development: are the main characters
likeable? Even evil characters can be likeable, or at least have likeable traits. Just as good
characters arent perfectly good, evil characters wont be fully evil. Its all in the way you spin it.
After reading your novel, ask yourself, do I like this character? Does the character learn at least a
little bit from his or her mistakes? Does he or she have a motivation for their behavior? If not,
its time for some rewriting!
By the end of this process, youll probably have gone through several rewrites. Thats the
way it should be. But theres one last step in a content edit: read your book again and delete all
unnecessary information. Get rid of anything that doesnt add to the storyline. Im not saying you
should strip away all description and side plots; just make sure those descriptions and side plots
move the story along.
Youve accomplished the hardest part in self-editing your novel: content editing! Next
comes what most people think of when they hear the word editing: line editing.
3. Begin Line Editing: Common Punctuation and Grammar Problems
Now read your novel again, this time looking for the little mistakes. Go word by word. Read it
aloud slowlyeven agonizingly slow. The slower you read, the more grammar and punctuation
errors you will be able to catch. (See Get Help From Technology below for help reading your
book aloud.) This is the process called line editing.
Check that the sentences in each paragraph vary in length. If they dont, then change
them. Reading several short sentencesor long sentencesin a row is monotonous and difficult
for the reader.
Next, for each sentence, ensure punctuation is used correctly. One of the most common
punctuation errors I see in manuscripts is the comma splice. A comma splice happens when you
try to join two independent clausesclauses that can be sentences by themselveswith a
comma. For example, I love strawberries, theyre good, is a comma splice. Instead, use a
conjunction (in this case, because), a period, a semicolon, or even a dash. But make sure you
know how to use the punctuation before you apply it. If youre not sure how, try consulting The
Chicago Manual of Style.
Another difficult punctuation mark is the semicolon. As little as fifteen years ago,
semicolons were much more widely used, but they are less popular now, so use them sparingly.
The most common use for a semicolon is to join two independent clauses. For example, the
following sentence is not correct usage: You know this lake is full of vicious creatures;
creatures that will eat you alive. The phrase creatures that will eat you alive, is not a sentence
by itself and cant be joined to another clause with a semicolon. Semicolons are also used to
replace commas in a series within long, confusing sentences that have multiple comma
structures. For example, I would need to use semicolons in this sentence: Mary had a lot of
visitors when she was sick: Sarah, her best friend; Rachel, a longtime friend of the family; and
her next-door neighbor Claire and her husband, Jonas. But this use of semicolons is rare and
should be avoided in novels precisely because they are long and confusing. If you need to use
them for clarity, though, then do so.
Quotations are another area where people struggle with punctuation, so lets see if we can
clear up some confusion. In American writing, a comma and a period always go inside a
quotation mark. Question marks and semicolons go inside the quotation mark if theyre part of
the quote, and they go outside if theyre not. For example, if Mary is asking about something that
Sarah said, Mary would say, What do you mean, Men are all scumbags? The question mark
is not inside the single quotation mark because Sarahs original comment was not a question. But
for most dialog the phrase will end with a comma: I need to go shopping, Mary said.
However, we only use a comma if the dialog tag is part of the sentence. We wouldnt use a
comma in this instance: I need to go shopping. Mary shut the cupboard with a frown. If youre
splitting up a quote with a dialog tag and commas, check that the quotations make sense together
as a sentence. For example, in the following case, we cant use commas before and after the tag,
although many authors would be tempted to: I love shopping, Mary interjected. Its so
relaxing. To use a comma after the dialog tag would make a comma splice!
A great way to spice up dialog in your novel is to change the dialog tags to beats like
the one above where Mary shut the cupboard. Using beats also helps you eliminate -ly adverbs
that tell instead of show. Instead of I cant stand it! she said angrily, try I cant stand it!
She threw the book in his direction, barely missing his face. (Thats much more fun, right?) Also,
its often not necessary to include the dialog tag, depending on the context. This is good because
dialog tags slow down the reader. If its easy to tell who the speaker is and what theyre feeling
without the tag, then take it out.
Lets move on to grammar issues. First of all, keep an eye out for fragments, or
incomplete sentences. A complete sentence has a subject and a verb and doesnt start with a
subordinate conjunction (because, while, etc.). The phrase Because she was hungry is a
fragment. Keep in mind that subordinate conjunctions, though, are different from coordinating
conjunctions (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so), and starting a sentence with a coordinating
conjunction is perfectly acceptable. Now, in fiction, fragments are often used to create suspense
or to draw the reader in. So you can use fragments, but make sure your fragments draw readers in
instead of confusing them. If youre not sure whether the fragment works, then use a complete
sentence. But if you know it will work, then go for it!
Another common grammar mistake writers make is using confusing pronouns. Every
time you say he, she, it, this (without a noun following it), and other pronouns, ensure that its
obvious what the pronoun is referring to. If youve used two male names in one sentence, and
you say he later in the sentenceor even in the next sentenceask yourself, Is it obvious who
he is? If its not clear, make it obvious or use the name instead of the pronoun. For example,
take the following sentences: Jake often goes over to Seths house. While there, he loves
playing on his Xbox. Who is he and his referring to? We would want to reword to something
like this: Jake often goes over to Seths house. While there, Jake loves playing on Seths Xbox.
This sentence is somewhat wordy now, so perhaps we can change it even further: Jakes friend,
Seth, has an Xbox, and Jake loves going over to Seths house to play on it. Confusing pronouns
can also be a huge problem in dialog if there are several people in a scene and he said or she
said is used a lot.
Lets focus on the difficult grammar issue of subject-verb agreement. Sometimes getting
this right can be tricky, so here are a few tests your can run. The verb must always agree with the
subject, even if there is a prepositional phrase or other words between the subject and verb. You
must identify what the true subject is. For example, collection is the subject in the following
sentence: The collection of poems belongs to my sister. Note that belongs is singular because
its true verb is collection, not poems. Now, if the subject of the sentence is an indefinite pronoun,
like any, anybody, anything, either, everything, neither, no one, nothing, and some, then the verb
is usually singular (one exception is everyone, which can be singular or plural depending on
context and formality). Things get trickier if you have written a correlative construction (either . .
. or; neither . . . nor; not only . . . but also; not . . . but). In instances like this, the verb agrees in
number to the part of the subject that is closest to the verb. For example, both Not only my
coworkers but also my boss was present and Not only my boss but also my coworkers were
present are correct. For sentences that begin with there is or there are, you must find the
inverted subject: There are three people staying at my house. Watch out for sentence with
linking verbs (am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been, feel, etc.), coupled with a complement or
predicate noun. Dont confuse the complement or predicate noun with the subject. For example,
the plurality of the verb changes in the next two sentences, even though the sentences mean the
same thing: Her main source of inspiration is television and the Internet and Television and
the Internet are her main sources of inspiration.
They final step of line editing is to delete unnecessary words like very, extremely, just,
really, suddenly, and literally, unless theyre in dialog; dialog is a lot more flexible than the rest
of the text. Just make sure the dialog wont confuse the reader.
4. Check for Commonly Confused Words
There are several pairs of words that are often mixed up. Among them are words like adverse
and averse; elude and allude; ensure, insure, and assure; peak, pique, and peek; and precede and
proceed. Make sure you understand the differences between similar words before using them.
You can even use the Microsoft Word search function to find each instance of the word and
make sure youre using it correctly. In addition to the words above, I suggest keeping a list of
words you know you often use incorrectly, or that you use too often, and searching for those
words as youre finishing self-editing your manuscript.
For a more complete list of commonly confused words, along with the definitions, email
me at catia@ranunes.com.
5. Get Help from Technology
Technology can be used as a last clean-up sweep before sending your manuscript to an editor.
First, run a spelling and grammar check on Microsoft Word. Word can help you find mistakes
that you may gloss over when reading. However, evaluate each suggestion Word makes because
the suggestions are often wrong.
One of the most helpful aspects of Word that I use when Im editing is the find and
replace function (ctrl + h). In addition to looking up commonly confused words, you can search
for double spaces or extra line breaks and get rid of them. Word also allows you to search for
straight quotes and replace them with smart quotes (type a quotation mark in the find box and a
quotation mark in the replace box, and make sure the Use Wildcards box is checked before
clicking Replace All). Finally, I find it helpful to search for words like cause and til
because the apostrophes are often facing the wrong way (the combination of an em dash and a
quotation mark sometimes results in a backwards quotation mark too, like this: ).
Microsoft Word has a great read-aloud feature. Turning on this feature and reading along
with it is helpful for catching little typos. To add this function to your toolbar in Word, go to the
drop down menu at the top of the document (next to the undo and redo buttons) and click More
Commands. Make sure youre on the Quick Access Toolbar menu, and change the drop down
menu under View commands from to Commands Not in the Ribbon. Scroll down until you
find Speak, click on it, and then click the Add button on the right. The button will now be
next to the undo and redo buttons at the top of the document. To use the read-aloud feature, you
have to select the section of text you want it to read before pushing the button. It will only read a
limited amount of text at a time.
Next, try out some macros! Macros are codes that search for specific problems in your
manuscript. For example, one macro may search for missing quotation marks in a pair and
another might search for a missing serial comma (the comma that comes before the word and in
a list). To add a macro, go to the View tab on the ribbon in word. Click on Macros on the right
side, and click View Macros. Type in the name of your macro and click Create. This
command will bring up Microsoft Visual Basic. Paste in your macro code under the information
it puts in for you, saving and exiting when youre done. To use the macro, go to View Macros,
click on the macro you want to use, and push Run. I suggest downloading Paul Beverleys
macros book at http://archivepub.co.uk/macros.html to get macro codes.
Finally, when making changes during a line edit, its easy to accidently introduce new
errors into a manuscript. To combat this, save the document as a different file before changing
anything. After you finish editing, do a compare document, which is a function in Word, to
compare the current file with the unchanged file. This way, you can make sure you changed
every spot correctly. Use a compare doc when doing your own editing and when incorporating
another persons edits (remember, editors make mistakes too!). To compare files, go to the
Review tab on the ribbon and click the Compare button (near the right side). Put in the
documents you want to compare and click OK. Word will show the original and the new
document on the right side of the screen, and in the middle of the screen will be the original
document with the changes put into the new document shown in red.
Coming to the End . . .
After making all these changes and incorporating technology, your manuscript should be in
pretty good shape. But before sending it to an editor, send your manuscript to a friend. Consider
carefully the changes they suggest and implement what you think works; remember that you
always have the final say.
Once youre satisfied with your edits, send the manuscript to an editor. Yes, after all the
content editing, line editing, searches for commonly confused words, and help from technology,
youll still need a professional editor (or two) to look over your document, because its
impossible for one person to catch everything, and good editors are trained to find errors while
your friends probably arent. But if youve done the steps of self-editing, you wont have to pay
the editor as much. The fewer errors your manuscript has, the less an editor will charge you and
the cleaner your final document will be.
Self-editing your novel isnt easy or fast, but it is certainly worth it!

About the Writer
Hello, my name is Ctia. Few things gives me more joy than editing does. Through my
editing, I want to help independent authors like you get your fiction novels published and selling
well.
Not only have I studied editing in college, but I have experience in editing fiction novels,
designing covers, and typesetting manuscriptsbasically, the entire publication process. This
process fascinates me, and I can support you as you work through it.
Whether you want a content edit for organization, plot flow, and character development,
or a line edit (copy edit) for punctuation and grammar problems, my services can fulfill your
needs. Ill catch any errors and help you make your book the best it can be.
I also offer services in typesetting and cover design, which are necessary steps in self-
publishing. Whether you just need advice or you want me to actually design your book, Im here
to help.
My offer to you
Next time you want an edit, a typeset, or a cover design, mention this help guide and Ill give
you 10% off on my services. You can email me for a free quote.

Catia Shattuck
Editors Craft
catia@ranunes.com editorscraft.weebly.com