Editing is the act of improving a piece of writing. Questions with this tag should focus on specific editing techniques or ways to improve editing skills. If you are submitting a piece for critique, use the "critique" tag instead.
13
votes
9answers
522 views
How can I catch more errors when I proofread?
I have a problem where I often proof my own writing and I don't catch all the errors while I am reading through it. I often miss entire words out of sentences or find myself repeating words. I can ...
9
votes
5answers
580 views
When should a chapter end?
When writing a novel, when should I end a chapter?
Note that I'm not talking about chapter word-count (that topic was discussed here). I'm interested to know when should I end my chapters ...
8
votes
1answer
488 views
How do I find an affordable editor?
I wrote a few chapters of a book several years ago. How do I find an affordable editor?
7
votes
4answers
316 views
How do I successfully structure a long fiction piece?
I’ve ‘completed’ three novels – a thriller, a coming-of-age story, and a mystery. I’ve had expert readers for all three including Sue Grafton who read two of them. All the expert readers have the same ...
15
votes
7answers
342 views
When editing for a person, how much can be changed?
The context is a technical document that is written by one person and then sent out for review by others. The reviewers change word tense, change from active to passive voice, and make other style ...
15
votes
11answers
524 views
Which techniques can I use to become a better editor when editing my own writing?
I'm looking to improve my ability to edit and correct my own writing. What are some techniques I can use to help me with this?
21
votes
3answers
315 views
Editors: Edit on first read, or read and edit on second round?
I edit novels (among other works). I was having a discussion with someone (not an editor) who didn't understand my technique.
What I do is read through the document, and the moment something occurs ...
5
votes
4answers
1k views
emacs for creative writing
Does anyone know a good emacs configuration for creative writing? I'd be looking for the ability to write, edit, and export to libre office or word (so the less technical people get edit/view). I'm ...
15
votes
9answers
707 views
What methods can I use to revise my writing?
Background
I am finding it challenging to transform an early draft into a finished product. My biggest challenges are putting the prose in the proper order and using topic sentences and transitions ...
12
votes
8answers
351 views
How much leeway can be expected from an editor regarding my preference for nonstandard punctuation?
As I hope to present a unique style to the world, as I am not especially tolerant of being told I'm doing things "wrong" when that's a subjective statement related to writing style, and as I've never ...
6
votes
3answers
259 views
How do I start editing my novel?
I had written the first draft of my book and put it in the freezer almost 6 weeks ago. Yesterday I took it out, and after going through a first read to note my reactions, I have decided to start work ...
5
votes
1answer
134 views
What are tips / techniques to manage the consistency of a plot encompassing several subplots ?
When I lay out a plot consisting of interwoven threads, one of the most annoying things is to manage effectively the factual, logical consistency of the whole.
In order to be more effective and ...
17
votes
6answers
805 views
Why does an author need an editor?
I'm firmly in the camp of "your novel needs an editor, and that editor better not be yourself." But recently I was asked why that was, and I couldn't articulate an answer that was passable.
Young ...
10
votes
4answers
295 views
2nd Draft- Fix spelling/grammar or plot first?
I just finished the first draft of my novel, and Im going to put it away for at least a month.
The book has a lot of spelling / grammatical errors, as in true Nanowrimo style, I kept typing without ...
8
votes
5answers
134 views
How can I edit my own, very old work?
I have about a hundred pages of a novel I wrote in high school, I like the concept behind the writing but I'm finding it extremely difficult to go back and read/edit it again. I last edited the ...
8
votes
3answers
234 views
I'm an editor who generally uses Word to communicate changes with my authors. Is Adobe's InCopy better for this task?
For all of my editing work I'm currently using Microsoft Word. But I've heard a bit about Adobe's InCopy being good for editing and publishing. Is it really better? What makes it better than Word?
6
votes
8answers
644 views
Correct spelling errors while writing or after you've finished?
With the "write, don't edit" rule in mind, how should one handle mistyping?
I usually stop or go back to fix the error as soon as I spot it, but often I feel this breaks the flow of writing.
Should ...
4
votes
7answers
272 views
How many errors should I expect from a proofreader?
I hired a proofreader (typos, commonly confused words, minor grammar issues etc) to look at my work, which I plan to self publish.
She found most typos, but from a 66,000 word novel, missed about 10. ...
4
votes
4answers
244 views
Write to the finish, or edit as you go?
Someone asked this question in another forum, and I thought I'd bounce it around in here to see what kind of responses we get. If you are working on writing a new book, is it better to just write all ...
3
votes
2answers
141 views
Do we need a gap of time between drafts?
Stephen King, in his book 'On writing' (and other writers), says one should put some gap of time between drafts. So for example, wait a month after finishing the 1st draft, before starting work on the ...
1
vote
3answers
98 views
Critique: Make excerpt more visual/flow better
I have this excerpt I'm not sure is fluid and visual enough:
Peter came out of the café rubbing his tummy. The chipmunk had a smile on the
face and seemed content.
Not too far behind him ...
