Hi all
Has anybody got any tips on editing their work?
I find it really hard to see spelling mistakes (I type ‘you’ instead of ‘your’ all the time and obviously the computer’s spell check does not pick this up), repetition of words, grammatical mistakes, etc. The longer I spend looking at a piece of work the more inept I become at editing it.
I read in one of the other forums that someone recommended changing the font and line spacing of your work to help you to see it with fresh eyes. I have tried this and it makes a big difference so thanks to whoever that was!
Thanks
V

Quite a few of us do that, V, and find it very useful. Other things you can try are printing it off – do it single spaced to save paper – or upload it onto here. You can set it so that no one else can see it, and you'll be amazed how many typos you find.

My commonest typo is form instead of from, so I always do a search on form to check for errors. I don’t know if it would be feasible for you/your, but it’s doable for less common words. If you look about half way down on the Home page, you'll find a word frequency counter. You could load your ms into that to see how many instances of your commonest potential errors there are, or to see if there’s an unexpectedly high number of certain words.

Or, when you’ve done all you can do, you can pay someone to do a line edit for you, but that costs money so don’t do it until your ms is ready to send out.

Dee

Peculiar to this industry, is the A4, Times New Roman 12pt Double line spaced thing.

Of the base fonts - guess which is hardest to read?

I maintain two copies, I write in the industry submission format. I edit in A5 Arial, it's suprising what you will spot when the typeface and line-breaks are changed.

It's an age-old problem, your brain won't read it, coz you wrote it and you know what it says.

Peculiar to this industry, is the A4, Times New Roman 12pt Double line spaced thing.

Yes, but we can write in any style we feel most comfortable with. I prefer Georgia 12-point, but I always switch to TNR12 before printing it. I agree TNR is difficult to read on screen, but I find it very readable on paper, so I'm not surprised the industry ask for it.

Dee

If it's typos you keep missing, I agree that changing the font or format of the work really shows them up. Or do a swap with another writer, and they're more likely to see the typos you miss. For bigger revision/editing changes, I've found Sol Stein's 'Triage' chapter (I think in 'On Writing'really helpful.
Susiex

<Added>

rogue winky

Print it out and then read it aloud - then you're forced to read what's actually there, rather than what you think you've written.

I use Courier New when writing and then change it to TNR or whatever the pub requires when it's done and ready to submit.

Nik

As a precaution, I heartily recommend marrying the most pedantic lawyer you can lay your hands on...
HB x

Print it out and then read it aloud - then you're forced to read what's actually there, rather than what you think you've written.

I agree with you, sadly my printer, my wallet and my daughter (Miss Green) object. I'm just crap!

Repeating words

Omitting two letter words

and whatever the output version of dyslexia is.

Yes, you go progressively blind to what's actually on the page.

Time helps a lot - leaving it for days/weeks/months, then coming back to it. You only get a bit of time before it goes dull on you again, though, so make the most of that window of freshness.

Reading aloud is brilliant - I would say, essential. Apparently your brain processes words you're reading aloud in a different place from where it processes ones you read 'to yourself' as the six-year-olds say, so you genuinely do come to it fresh at the neurological level.

Buy a laser printer - they're soooooo much cheaper to run and quicker to print. Print it out, put it away for as long as you can bear, then sit somewhere other than your desk and read it as a reader would.

You can read aloud on screen, but the temptation is to fiddle rather than scribble a query and keep moving. And though I know you can make popup notes, it's not the same as a good old pencil in the margin. Plus, you have to sit at the computer, which means you're still physically in the old place and ways

FWIW, I've never submitted a book or story that I haven't read aloud from start to finish at some - usually latish - stage. Takes a day or so, and a lot of water. Probably the most valuable single day's work you'll do: why wouldn't you spend that day?

Emma

I'm just printing mine out in single-line spacing, so it looks like a 'real' book. I'm then going to take it somewhere completely different (down to the beach?) and read it.
Reading aloud: hmm, that's something ELSE to do, but, as you say, well worth it.
Also (see my other thread in WF) I've just sent an email to about 30 people asking(with no pressure whatsoever) if they'd like to read anything from the first chapter to the whole thing. More as a kind of 'marker' that I've completed it than anything, but will be interesting to receive any feedback.
Susiex

I've tried mailing people. You tend to give them your problems (now they have to print it out!)

I use Open Office, exporting as PDF and then opening in Adobe seems to help.

Finally, I wouldn't read another's entire work, too much commitment. I would however, take part in some form of arrangement to exchange completed chapters with a proofing partner. A chapter or two a week isn't going to kill me is it.

PROOF SWAP - ACTION THRILLER 140,000/33 - X4 SIMILAR (Don't do children, romance or biography.)

Maybe you could have a board dedicated to the above type adverts.

Not today though, I have a hangover.

Yeah, Michael, was a bit worried about the printing thing. But some people like (apparently) reading from screen.
Susiex