The Mystery, Crime, and Thriller Group discussion

As most of us indie authors know it can be expensive to get hold of an editor who is willing to help us polish our work and make it presentable. So most of us are stuck with the burden of having to go through our work by ourselves. It is inevitable that we will miss many typos and grammar errors. Although MS Word does a good job of weeding out spelling mistakes it’s not perfect.

So is there anything we can do to improve on out self editing techniques? I have one or two books on the subject of self editing.

One technique I do use is putting on headphones and getting my Kindle Fire to read aloud my work. I find this useful because it will read aloud what I have written, not what I think I have written. By using this method I can catch at least 80% of mistakes. It’s not perfect but it’s one of the best self editing methods I have found so far.

Would anyone alse like to share tips on self editing techniques

In my limited experience and that's more writing papers, as I've never really written a novel and am impressed with those who've made the effort... anyway, I find it difficult to self-edit. I tend to read what I think I've written than what I've actually written. It's easier to edit somebody else's work than mine. However, when I blog I always do a spell check and it catches most of my errors or at least gives me the option of ignoring any supposed mistakes.

Hi Jason,

It is true. Correcting one's own work is very very difficult. I can only push you to pay for a professional. Everyone thinks it's an easy job (we can all read, right?), but it is not. Proofreading is expensive, but I think it is worth it.

I do scientific editing (for a journal, not my own work), and one of the things I do right at the beginning of the paper, even before I begin to read through, is to use the search function to look for all those words that I know are problematic.

I have to look for US/UK spelling inconsistencies, so I search for color/colour, for example and a whole slew of others.

Then I look for e.g and i.e (without the following period/full stop, because that is often left off) and that shows me if the following comma is there or not... e.g., or e.g.

Obviously my list is for scientific stuff and not regular prose, but I think you know what I mean.

Later on when I am reading through, every time I find a problem I stop and "search" for that problem in the whole document, because an author will very often do the same thing twice, I mean make the same mistake twice, (and often I see other problems near the thing I am searching for).

Another thing to remember is that you should do small bits at a time, because the brain turns itself off after a while. So set yourself a limit, take a break, and then come back to it.

One last thing. Resist the temptation... Don't listen to music while you are editing, because the music will distract you. Even instrumental music. I like your method of listening to someone else read while you listen and correct. I often have to read passages out loud to make sure.

Good luck! and catch those typos!!

I also forgot to mention that choosing the correct font is immensely important. I can't work in Arial, for example. It makes me miss a lot. I use something like Times or Courier. You need to choose the one that is best for you.

Make sure the spacing between the lines is ample, and that the font is big enough.

I struggle with this mightily, and yes, I do agree with the advice that says "there is no substitute for a professional editor/proof-reader." I've been embarrassed enough with left-over typos, gaffs and errors to know the truth in that advice. Alas, however, I'm limited in my budget, so how to stem the blushing?

I've found that after the full read/edit pass, if I format and convert my book to my eBook of choice (Kindle for me, though Nook would do just as well) and read it as my reader would, I catch many more issues than if plow through it in the Word processor. I highlight the typos, add notes for other edits (add a paragraph break, new sentence, use a different word, etc.), then, when complete, I go back to my Word processor and make the required updates. It's not full-proof, but reading it like my reader would tells me a lot more than if I read it like I wrote it (in the Word processor). For instance, what looks like perfectly acceptable paragraph length in a Word processor may appear like an intimidating wall of text on the final format -- time to break or shorten the paragraph, then.

In summary, edit in your Word processor to "finalize" your final draft, then sweep in your eReader for the residue errors/typos/minor edits. Try that and see how it works for you. It's the way I'm going to work from now on.

Eduardo Suastegui
Story-telling that captures the heart

One other thing I forgot to mention: you need to space yourself from the time you wrote a given draft to the time you edit it. You will see less of what "you think you wrote" when time has passed. Minimum of two weeks is what I require. YMMV.

My recommendation is to edit a paper copy. I don't know why but I miss a lot more errors reading a Word document on the computer than reading the same thing on paper. Years ago, I did proofreading for a large publisher and I'm really pretty good at it. After I re-typed a book to make it into an ebook, I was stunned at the number of mistakes I didn't notice until I'd gone over and over it several times. And I found a few more after I published it. That's when the light dawned -- I proofread on paper now.

Eduardo wrote: "For instance, what looks like perfectly acceptable paragraph length in a Word processor may appear like an intimidating wall of text on the final format -- time to break or shorten the paragraph, then.

This is such a good point, Eduardo! Things really change from one format to another.

Also between paper and screen, L.L. When I was just starting out I had the same problem, and had to print out the docs. I proofread too many pages every week, and the paper and ink would be too expensive, so I had to stop, but I too see much more on paper.

Whether you proofread your work on paper or on screen, read it aloud. I catch a lot of awkward sentences, redundant words and other goofs that way. If you have dialog in your work, it's especially important to hear it out loud and make sure it sounds like your character should.
Gay Yellen

L.L. wrote: "My recommendation is to edit a paper copy. I don't know why but I miss a lot more errors reading a Word document on the computer than reading the same thing on paper. Years ago, I did proofreadin..."

I'm exactly the same. For whatever reason - and believe me I've tried working it out but can't..! - unless I edit a paper copy I end up missing things.

I proofread all of my work onscreen too, as I think it gives a more accurate 'feel' for the layout in terms of how the story will work on a screen, as well as allowing me to see it how a reader will on their kindle/nook/etc. But I always make sure I edit a paper copy too.

Okay all you self-editors!

Here is some funky and fun music to help you, thanks to Weird Al Yankovic.

I have been laughing all week over this. Enjoy and have a great weekend:

http://youtu.be/8Gv0H-vPoDc

That's great. Clever and funny and accurate.

Oooohh, I love this video! Thanks so much for highlighting it. I hope he does another one with more of the same.

Love it!

Thanks for the tips guys