All writers do it. Some of us even enjoy it. But the process can drive a sane person absolutely crazy. <\/p>\n
For example, just when you think you\u2019ve found all of the mistakes in your manuscript, you discover one or two more. Does the process of self-editing ever end? <\/p>\n
Turn your perfect manuscript over to an editor or even a friend with a good eye for proofing and you may be astounded at some of the problems you overlooked. For example:<\/p>\n
\u2022\tYour chapter headings don\u2019t match your table of contents (a common situation for those of us who make changes in heading titles or the order of chapters after having completed the TOC). <\/p>\n
\u2022\tYour character name or a place name is inconsistent. Ooops you changed the name of a character or city in mid-stream and forgot to change it throughout. <\/p>\n
\u2022\tYou never took time out to learn how to use the apostrophe correctly. <\/p>\n
\u2022\tYou have become so close to your manuscript that you are overlooking obvious blunders. <\/p>\n
\u2022\tYou are confused about when to use \u201cthen\u201d and \u201cthan,\u201d \u201cyour\u201d and \u201cyou\u2019re,\u201d etc. <\/p>\n
\u2022\tAnd the list goes on and on and on.<\/p>\n
If you are writing a book, I have a couple of suggestions.<\/p>\n
1: Buy a copy of The Chicago Manual of Style<\/em>. It is pricey. But, if you study it, you will learn volumes of valuable editorial and writing rules that will serve you in all of your writings.<\/p>\n 2: Start saving up to hire a good book editor. Don\u2019t even think about pitching a book to an agent or publisher without hiring one.<\/p>\n 3: When you\u2019ve self-edited to the best of your ability, turn your manuscript over to a good book editor. You will be awfully glad you did.<\/p>\n You might reason, \u201cBut I read books all the time that aren\u2019t well edited. If they can get away without hiring an editor, why can\u2019t I?\u201d And how far do you think these authors will get within the publishing world? I can tell you that I won\u2019t read very far into a book that is riddled with errors. I know others who will cast a book aside if it isn\u2019t well-edited. I mean, if the author didn\u2019t care enough about his story or his nonfiction book to make sure it is editorially accurate, what makes you think the content is valid?<\/p>\n I\u2019m sure that many of you have stories of buying books with editorial mistakes. How do you handle it? Do you go ahead and read the book, as painful as it may be? Do you immediately lose confidence in the author? Do you toss the book and tell friends that you do NOT recommend it? Or are you one of those people who can read through the errors without them bothering you? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" All writers do it. Some of us even enjoy it. But the process can drive a sane person absolutely crazy. For example, just when you think you\u2019ve found all of the mistakes in your manuscript, you discover one or two more. Does the process of self-editing ever end? Turn your perfect manuscript over to an […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[10],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t