How to professionally edit your book

This is a guest article by Jennifer Scott. If you are interested in submitting a guest article of your own, be sure to read the guest article guidelines.

Writing and completing a book is a process filled with seemingly infinite milestones. So, you’ve just finished writing out your first draft and a smile breaks across your face. Box ticked. However, an impending feeling then dawns on you that you’ve now got the laborious task editing your book to perfection.

One option would be to get an editor but if you’re on a budget, getting a good one is nearly impossible, so you’re going to need to do it yourself. To help you get started, here’s everything you need to know.

Take a break

The first thing you don’t want to do is jump straight into editing after you’ve just finished your first draft. Now is the time to rest and refresh your brain.

And this doesn’t just mean for an hour. This means leaving your manuscript aside for a couple of days, so you can clear your mind for productive editing.

Read aloud

It’s nice in thought to sit somewhere you find comfortable and read through your content in your head while watching the world go past. However, this is an extremely inefficient way to edit, and you’ll be prone to making mistakes.

“Instead, sit somewhere quiet but read your first draft aloud. Mistakes and problems in your work will become so much more obvious when you hear them aloud, especially for the first time,” shares Darren Lambert, a proofreader for Essay Writing Service.

Look for common mistakes

There is a tonne of common mistakes out there that you’ll potentially fall into the trap of getting wrong so make sure you keep a special eye out for these problems since even the most seasoned writers can make them.

For example, ‘a lot’ and ‘alot’ is a common mix up writers make. The same can be said for ‘affect’ and ‘effect’, ‘less’ and ‘fewer’, ‘who’ and ‘whom’. The list goes on and on so make sure you’re keeping your eyes open for these little issues.

Using online tools

Although you’re an aspiring or professional writer, working on the same piece of text day in, day out can take its toll on your brain, especially when it feels like you’re mindlessly editing.

However, there are multiple tools and resources out there on the internet that can help, such as Easy Word Count, Cite It In and Grammarix, which can help you set editing goals or make the process easier.

Additionally, blogs like Via Writing and Academadvisor are ideal since they contain multiple editing guides you can follow to make your editing process for effective.

Using proofreading services

As you draw to the close of your editing process, you might want to begin your proofreading process. This means scanning through your content to make sure it’s free from spelling mistakes and typos.

For this, you can do it yourself, hire a professional or use a proofreading service such as Best British Essays or UK Service Reviews. This can help you see the final copy of your book more clearly, helping you finalise the editing process.

About the author: Jennifer works as online editor at Top Canadian Writers. Also, she is a business developer that works in different areas of education, technology, security and various types of online marketing. Prior to business developing Jennifer was consultant at Deloitte, and managed security services provider and developer of a wide range of security solutions.