You've Got This Tuesday: Book Editing Tips (Part 1)
- D. D. Scott
- Apr 10, 2018
- 2 min read
Wavin' atchya sweet friends! Welcome to another edition of You've Got This Tuesday!
Over in my LetLoveGlow Facebook Group , I promised you great scoop this month on editing...so here we go...
Editing Tips:
1. Read your book (each and every page) out loud to yourself...maybe even record yourself reading it
Listen for where you trip over your words and ask yourself "What about this does or doesn't make sense?"
2. Study the structure and shape of your book
I'm talking here about how you've organized it, taking stock of your story questions, story threads, themes and concepts. For example, have you (or your characters) asked questions or have issues you've forgotten to answer or address? And, if you didn't answer one of your story questions on purpose because you're writing a series and plan on getting to that in the next book, have you made your reader aware of that so they're not left hanging, feeling cheated, let down or confused?
3. If you're using beta readers or a critique group (which I'm personally not a fan of, at all), don't change anything that only 1 person says is a problem. Not until at least more than half of the group say you might want to change something should you even consider changing it. Honor your own voice and vision, not others.
4. Create a timeline of your story/book and make sure it's consistent throughout
For example, if it's Saturday when your book starts, and you've told us that the entire story takes place in a day, but at the end, you mention it's Thursday, we've got a problem. Lol! Same way if we're in a winter setting and then all at once the lilacs are blooming. How did we get from Frosty the Snowman to Spring blossoms? :)
Ready for more fantastic editing tips and bunches of additional on-writing tips? Check out this terrific podcast, featuring two of my favorite authors - Daniel Pink and Tim Ferriss :) https://tim.blog/2018/03/25/daniel-pink/
Do you use any of these editing techniques? And please share your faves, too!
Cheers Hugs and Love --- DD
