Gems: Editing That Diamond. From Rough Draft to Polished Manuscript Part III

So far, we have done the big picture editing, where we add, subtract or move bits and pieces around. We have worked on writing style issues, such as variety, dialogue and imagery. That leaves us with the final inspection.

The final inspection in diamond editing involves cleaning the diamond in acids and examining it to make sure it meets quality standards for that manufacturer. When we edit our manuscript, this final process cleans up our words, fixes errors and makes sure that it meets publishing standards.

This proofreading stage will vary according to your strengths and weaknesses, but I have a few tips that you might find useful.

Spell-check. Make sure it is turned on.
Grammar check. If you have this option on your word processor, use it, but don’t always rely on it to be 100% accurate.
Change the font type and size when editing.
Read your story backwards, one sentence at a time.
Read it aloud.
Print out a copy and work in a different environment.

At this stage in editing, I am on high alert for all of my bad habits. I will often use the find function in MSWord to catch a few of these, but many of them have to be caught while carefully proofreading. When I search with the find function, I view each word in context and decide if I need to fix the word or leave it in.

Words I mix up: woman/women; think/thing.

Unnecessary words: that; and then; seems; felt; just.

Words that can be replaced by better words: walked; looked; smiled.

I look for other weaknesses as I read each sentence carefully for spelling, grammar, punctuation or formatting errors.

Missing apostrophes for possessive nouns. Water off a ducks back, should be water off a duck’s back.
Too many adverbs or –ly words.
Weird comma placement.
Misspelled words that are actually other words, such as tale/tail; me/my; or sweet/sweat.
Repeated words in the same sentence or even in the same paragraph.

To avoid getting overwhelmed by this process, work with one chapter or one page at a time and take plenty of breaks. And when you are through, reward yourself for a job well done and rest in the knowledge that you now have a manuscript that will stand out from the crowd, in a slush pile or on an agent or editors desk.

I suggest that you line up a few test/beta readers who would be willing to proofread the manuscript and give you their honest opinion on the story content at this point. A friend, a peer that you admire, and crit-partners that you have met online, are all good candidates.

About The Author

writerpatty

Christian. Wife. Mother of five children. Aspiring author of Young Adult fiction.

Writer Patty’s Publication Adventure

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