You did it! You wrote your story. You typed the words, The End. You commissioned a couple of beta readers. They helped you tighten your plot and clear up any confusion. You’re happy with where your story starts and where it ends. You’re ready to dive head-first into the query trenches.

Pause—not so fast. There’s a little something called self-editing you need to do first.

“What the heck,” you say. “If I get a publishing deal, won’t I get an editor?”

The short answer is—yes. But the better your craft executes your wonderful plot, could weigh heavy on it crossing the finish line. And while no agent or publisher expects your words to be professional editor quality, there are a few craft choices that could elevate your chances of getting your book baby out into the world and into readers’ hands.

As a traditionally published author, book coach, and literary assistant, here are my top 10 self-editing tips. Take ’em or leave ’em, but this is what I look for and recommend to emerging and querying authors.

1. Minimize Filter Language

Filtering is one of the most common mistakes emerging writers make, and it’s an easy fix. Filter language is when an author uses filter words to tell what the character is experiencing as opposed to allowing the reader to experience alongside the character, or show. (Such as see/saw, hear/heard, look/looked)

• Filtered – She heard the birds chirp out the open window.
• Unfiltered – Birds chirped out the open window.

• Filtered – He saw her running toward him.
• Unfiltered – She ran toward him.

Removing filter language gifts the reader a more immersive reader experience.

Click on the link above for a detailed list of filter words and how to revise your manuscript to reduce filter language.

2. Minimize Multiple Back-to-Back Lengthy Paragraphs

Readers need some white space to break up the work of reading. When a reader opens a book, and it’s full of multiple lengthy paragraphs in a row, it can feel like a textbook reading experience rather than a for pleasure reading experience. As a writer, your goal is to make the physical act of reading easy on your readers’ eyes. Breaking up chunks of text with shorter paragraphs and dialogue will help.

Often those long paragraphs are full of the writer telling the reader backstory or lengthy descriptions, rather than showing these things in-scene.

Take a look at your manuscript. If you have multiple long paragraphs in a row, see how you can vary them for a more pleasurable reading experience.

Bonus Tip: Be sure to research average word count for your age range and genre for both chapters and the final manuscript.

3. Minimize Unnecessary Filler Words

Each word you choose matters. And each word not needed to convey your message, muddles it. Not something you want as part of your reader’s experience. Your goal is to write each sentence with as much brevity as possible. Below are some common filler words.

• Filler – He began to dial the number.
• Better – He dialed the number.

• Filler – She started to walk toward him.
• Better – She walked toward him.

Other filler word examples are just, very, that, so, really.

This takes work. Look at each and every sentence of your manuscript. If you can rewrite a sentence with less words, do it. When you remove filler words, you elevate your craft, reduce word count, and get closer to your end goal!

4. Replace Adverbs + Weak Verbs With Stronger Verbs

Stephen King says the road to hell is paved with adverbs and I agree. An adverb plus a verb usually means the author didn’t work hard enough to find the right verb and therefore had to modify it.

• Adverb + Weak Verb – She spoke quietly.
• Strong Verb – She whispered.

How easy was that! It may not seem like a huge difference, but if a manuscript is filled with adverbs and weak verbs, the craft, and therefore the absorption of the story to the reader, is hindered.

Search your manuscript for -ly words and remove as many as you can by strengthening your verbs. You’ll reduce word-count and elevate your craft.

5. Strengthen Dialogue

Dialogue in a novel should read as realistic as possible. One way to know if your dialogue is reading realistic is to listen to people speak. I’m giving you permission to eavesdrop here. Check out the examples below for unrealistic versus realistic dialogue.

Example of Unrealistic Dialogue

“Amanda, she is destroying my life. You remember what she did to me last summer. When she forced me to take that job at the car wash. She is making me work there again. I swear, my mother hates me!” Erica shouted and Amanda placed a hand on her back to comfort her. “Well, I will come hang out with you like I did last summer. We will make the best of it.” Amanda said.

A lot of things are wrong here.

1. Most people don’t use the first name of the person they are speaking to. Check your manuscript for overuse of proper names in dialogue.
2. Most people speak in contractions, so instead of “she is” we’d say “she’s.” Check your manuscript’s dialogue for missed opportunities for contractions.
3. Erica’s telling dialogue could be condensed into much fewer sentences. Keep dialogue short.
4. The use of an exclamation point and the word shouted is redundant.
5. Use exclamation marks sparingly. And only when someone is truly shouting at the top of their lungs. Try an action beat instead to get the point across. You don’t want the reader to feel like they are being yelled at.
6. Never put the action of one character in the same sentence as another character. Instead, start of a new paragraph.

Example of More Realistic Dialogue

“She’s destroying my life and making me work at the car wash again. I swear, my mother hates me.” Erica slammed her cheer bag next to her bed and collapsed onto the fluffy comforter.

Amanda, placed her arm on her friend’s back. “It’s okay. I’ll come hang out like I did last summer. We’ll make the best of it.”

It’s tighter, cleaner, and sounds more realistic how a teenager would speak.

6. Minimize Out-of-Scene Over-Descriptions

Setting

Readers should feel immersed in your book-world, but paragraphs of description is not the best way to do it. Instead, show the setting through the character’s POV in-scene.

• Out of Character POV – Warm sunlight bathed the room in a soft glow. A floral loveseat sat under the window. Pillows of all shapes made it look inviting.
• In-Character POV – Sunlight bathed her in a warm hug. An inviting floral loveseat under the window beckoned her to sit amongst its plush pillows.

This example isn’t literary genius, but meant to show how just a simple rewrite can put the reader in-scene as opposed to observing. It’s a great example of telling versus showing.

Characters

In the same way you want to show the setting in-scene, the same is true for character descriptions. Instead of writing a laundry list of character descriptions the second a character is introduced, consider showing them in-scene. Does you character stoop under a low-hanging light fixture? Does their hair frizz in humidity?

Additionally, reading is non-visual. Many readers prefer creating the character in their own head based off of their mannerisms and body language. Be economical in which characteristics you chose to share and when. Vivid character descriptions can often read as info-dumpy.

7. Minimize Backstory

While this was mentioned briefly in Number 2, Back to Back Lengthy Paragraphs, copious amounts of backstory can be a risky move for authors.

Pulling your reader out of scene to explain what led up to this moment, can be jarring. And while you, as the author, need to know your character’s complete backstory, your reader doesn’t. There is a time and a place.

In my upcoming debut, one subplot thread depends upon the character knowing some backstory. But I hold it off until about the 75% mark. And it comes from a conversation with a side character told in-scene. And while writers should avoid multiple lengthy monologues, one or two carefully placed (and not in the opening chapters) can work.

8. Use More Metaphors Than Similes

This may be personal preference, but I prefer metaphors in fiction over similes, and here’s why.

A simile uses the words like or as and is telling. “Her flaming red hair made her stick out like a sore thumb.” They can read as cliche and hyperbolic.

A metaphor is a direct comparison that shows rather than tells and reads as more sophisticated prose. “Her flaming red hair lit up the room.” Her hair isn’t technically flaming nor can it light up a room. The metaphor alludes her hair is fire.

I urge everyone to check out this episode of the Secret Library where author Danny Ramadan explains the technique he uses and created called the Metaphor Tree. His technique is to use metaphors within your manuscript that fall under the same topic to create a cohesive thread. For example, maybe all of your metaphors relate to weather or time. The reader may not notice it, but they’ll feel it.

Note that similes are not bad. Sometimes they are perfect for what the author is trying to convey. I recommend exercising caution in overuse of cliche similes (unless it makes perfect sense) and work to turn most similes into metaphors when possible.

9. Read and/or Listen to Your Manuscript in Multiple Formats

Hearing your words read via a voice narrator, and/or reading them via a printed manuscript or on your Kindle, will prohibit you from revising and allow you to be a consumer rather than a creator. This is an important distinction, because at some point your creation needs to cease and become a product.

This stage may send you running back to step one, but it’s so important! I’ve listened to my manuscript on Word so often that if Samantha doesn’t narrate my eventual audiobook, I’ll be disappointed!

Consuming your novel as a complete version, will help you decide if it is ready to venture into the query trenches as a mostly ready final product.

10. Run a Grammar and Spell Check

This may seem obvious, but many authors skip this final step. After you’ve done your major revisions, use a program such as Microsoft Word or my favorite, Grammarly, to run a final grammar and spell check. If an author sends me a project to critique or as a submission, and they’ve overlooked basic grammar, I hesitate to continue reading.

To be transparent, I’m no grammar expert. I’ve likely made multiple grammar errors in this post. But at least be cognizant of obvious spelling and grammar errors.

In Closing

In regards to self-editing—do you. These are “my top 10 tips.” They may not resonate with you. That’s fine. But if your manuscript happens to slide into my inbox, this is what I’ll be looking for.

A successful book is not made of what is in it, but what is left out of it.

Mark Twain