How to Be Your Own Best Editor
By Kelli A. Wilkins
This blog is part of a series offering fun
and practical advice to fiction writers. The blogs are based on the material in
my non-fiction guide to writing, You Can Write—Really! A Beginner’s Guide to Writing
Fiction. Whether you write horror,
romance, sci-fi, or mysteries, I hope you find the hints helpful.
What is one thing that will
set you apart as a professional writer and help you outshine the amateurs?
Believe it or not, it’s not the subject of your story, your witty proposal, or
even if you’ve been published before—it’s your presentation.
How you present yourself and
your writing to editors, agents, and readers speaks volumes about you. People
will stop reading if they find misspelled words, missing words, and repeated
words. These avoidable errors will flag your writing as unprofessional and
sloppy. And it might get your story rejected.
So, how do you make sure your
work is ready to go? Be your own best editor! Here are a few tips:
* Always
start your story with an interesting hook to capture the reader’s (or editor’s)
attention. Begin either 5 minutes before, during, or 5 minutes after “the big
moment” that gives the character a problem and draws the reader into the
character’s world. Keep the action going in the first few paragraphs.
Don’t waste the first page
describing the weather or how a character got dressed in the morning. Jump into
the story and take your readers with you. When you hook an editor, you stand a
good chance of staying out of the slush pile.
* Read your story out loud and proofread every word on each page. This
forces you to slow down and you will notice missing words. If you stumble over
a sentence or a phrase, it probably needs to be edited. Stop reading and fix
it. Then read the paragraph or sentence again to make sure it sounds right and
keep going.
Reading aloud also lets you
hear how the piece sounds, and you’ll pick up on words or phrases you overuse.
As a rule of thumb, a word or a phrase shouldn’t be repeated more than five
times in a novel, and even less in a short story. Use a thesaurus to give you
suggestions on similar words and replace them. (For example, “scream” can
become: shout, yell, yelp, squeal, cry, etc.) Also do a search for
similarly-spelled words and check that you’re not accidentally using the wrong
word. Some to look out for include: they’re,
there, their; four, for, fore; to, two, too; here, hear; you’re, your…
* Before
submitting your story, get the publication’s submission guidelines from their
website and follow them. Every publication is different, and you need to tailor
your submission to their requirements, or face automatic rejection.
When you have the guidelines,
read them carefully and ask yourself if your story is a good fit for the
publication. If the guidelines specifically say “no vampire stories” and your
main character has fangs and drinks blood, try somewhere else. If the
guidelines state the publication is only accepting stories under 2,000 words
and yours is 6,000, try again. Submitting a story where it doesn’t fit, only to
have it rejected, wastes your time and may sour the editor on further
submissions from you.
I hope you enjoyed these
writing tips and find them useful. If you’re interested in learning more about
the writing process, check out my non-fiction writing guide, You
Can Write—Really! A Beginner’s Guide to Writing Fiction. The book is designed for writers who need a boost of motivation and
simple instructions on how to get started. It’s packed with writing
tips, advice, and fun exercises.
Ready to write? Order your copy here:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Write-Really-Beginners-Writing-Fiction-ebook/dp/B00THWLFQU
All other platforms: https://books2read.com/u/4AqYN4
Read reviews here: https://www.kelliwilkins.com/you-can-write-really
ABOUT
THE AUTHOR
Kelli A. Wilkins is an award-winning author who has published more
than 100 short stories, 20+ romance novels, 7 non-fiction books, and 5 horror
ebooks. Her romances span many genres and settings, and she likes to scare
readers with her horror stories.
Her latest novel, In Another World, was
published in early 2022. This contemporary mystery/romance is set in the world of the
paranormal.
She released two horror shorts, More
Than I Bargained For and Silent Sentinel in 2021.
Like to write? Check out Journaling
Every Week: 52 Topics to Get You Writing. This fun and innovative
guide to journaling is filled with hundreds of thought-provoking prompts
designed to get you writing about your feelings and emotions.
Follow Kelli on her Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKelliWilkins and visit her website/blog www.KelliWilkins.com for a full title list and social media
links.
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