How to Self-Edit Your Manuscript for Beginning Writers

Changes! Corrections! Constant editing! The writing process is like a roller coaster of rearrangements when you're a beginning writer and don't know how to self-edit your manuscript. You can add and delete words as many times as necessary. 

Self-editing is important because it gives you more credibility as an author. Your work shouldn't be riddled with grammar mistakes. Although it takes time to fix or go over a story, blog, non-fiction work, report, or thesis to make it shine, the process is mandatory to get rid of pesky words or phrases. 

Even though self-editing isn't always something writers like to do because it's time-consuming, it must be a skill you continue to develop. Perfection in writing doesn't exist. But becoming a proficient self-editor will move you closer to having a piece of writing with minimal errors. 

Are you ready to start self-editing? Keep reading and find out how! 

Read Your Work Out Loud

In school, your teacher likely used to make you read paragraphs or stories out loud to the rest of the class. Do you know why? Well, the main reason was to reach fluency and identify if you made mistakes when you read. You can apply this technique when you self-edit. 

When you read a text you've written out loud, you can easily identify if it sounds good. This means that you'll notice where your sentences don't sound natural or if it's necessary to add more to understand the text. Plus, you'll recognize whether your plot makes sense.

Additionally, you'll pay attention to whether your sentences are too long or repetitive. If that's the case, you might want to split them up into shorter sentences or use punctuation for the sake of rhythm. 

Cite Your Sources  

The rule of thumb for any writer is to avoid plagiarism at all costs. As a self-editor, there's something you need to always keep in mind to help build your credibility and skills: citing your sources. 

It's indispensable to know how to cite your sources correctly. There are different places in your manuscript where you can cite: inside parentheses, as a footnote, or as an endnote. Depending on the genre you're writing, a different style of documentation will fit your story or manuscript. There's APA, Chicago, MLA, to name a few of the common ones. Each style is designed for a specific type of writing.

But why is citing so important? The internet has millions of articles. But being original is what will make you stand out from the crowd. As a writer, you don't want readers to find out that you took someone else's work and passed it on as yours. 

Write Concisely

As an author, people all over the world will read, critique, and share what you write. Being straightforward is helpful. A writer must master different skills at once to captivate and grab the reader's attention. Learning to be concise will help you focus on the important parts of your writing, explain complex words or phrases clearly, or consider the words you use. 

To start writing concisely as you self-edit, focus on being brief. What does this mean? Don't write with too many unnecessary details. When you began as a writer, you likely intentionally decorated your stories with as many adjectives as possible. However, wordiness snuck in your text and didn't let you convey your message in a few words. 

Use fewer words. Instead of saying: I felt very tired after the soccer match," you can say "I felt exhausted after the match." This subtle, yet important, use of words makes your writing different from the rest. Getting rid of unnecessary words is one of the first steps to take when self-editing.

Replace Passive Voice 

First-time writers used active and passive voice in their writing. In grammar, active voice refers to the subject doing an action, followed by a verb, and an object. In passive voice, there is emphasis on the verb instead of the subject. 

Passive voice isn't bad for your writing, but you need to know when to use it. 

• Reports: In this type of scenario, you emphasize the object. "The truck was stolen at night during the storm." 
• Scientific texts: Science often places more attention on the object or animal than the scientist. "The bacteria was examined to test the new antibiotic." 
• Emphasis: Sometimes the action can have more importance than the person who receives it. "The suspect was seen in King Road. 

Passive voice uses more words to express an idea, and overusing it in stories may not be beneficial for you and your audience. For example, replace "the last time the dog was seen by the owners in October" with "The last time the owners saw the dog was in October." Another passive voice example is: "Mistakes were made during my life." It can be changed with "During my life I made mistakes."Depending on the type of the sentence, you can modify it in different ways. 

Get Rid of "Very" 

There are a variety of ways to describe a word without using "very" before the adjective. Learning different alternatives will make your writing more attractive and stronger. You should keep away from "very" when you self-edit, because the word will show your vocab might not be strong. 

Although it isn't wrong to use this adverb, for the sake of word variety, replace it when it repeats frequently. Compare: "It's a very small room for the couple" and "It's a tiny room for the family." Similarly, "I feel very tired today," can be replaced with "I feel exhausted today." 

Rest After You Self-Edit Your Manuscript

As a self-editor of your manuscripts, rest is necessary to assure quality. It's common to hear that you need to edit as soon as you finish writing because your ideas are still fresh. Well, the reality might be slightly different. 

Resting after a heavy writing session can actually bring some benefits. In a busy world, you need to find a space for yourself without involving work-related activities. By doing that, you'll boost your creativity and be ready for continuing your self-editing work or any other activity.

Plus, you'll increase your productivity and come with a fresh pair of eyes to review and edit your manuscript. 

Takeaway 

Alright. Now that you have gone through some important aspects of self-editing, you can take your writing skills to the next level. As a self-editor, you need to spend time on your manuscript to make it shine. Spending nights up editing is part of the process, but the effort always pays off. There's no amount of specific changes you can make to your writing. Feel free to edit the parts that can have additional words. Or, if you prefer, reduce the number of words and be more concise.