Self-editing is hard for most writers, I suspect all writers. We know what we meant to write, so that’s what we tend to see when we try to edit our work. To combat this, try these self-editing options.
To find errors, such as typos, missing words, extra words, and confusing phrases, I use text-to-speech software that reads my words to me. It’s amazing the things I catch when I hear my words out loud.
As far as editing to make my writing better, I defer to a list from Jerry Jenkins, which he posted online, called “21 Self-Editing Secrets that Can Supercharge Your Manuscript.”
Another solution is to find another writer and work out an arrangement where you edit each other’s work. Of course, this works best if you have comparable levels of editing ability and ask each other to edit the same amount of work.
Try these self-editing options to improve your writing and catch pesky errors.
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Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD, is a full-time, career author. He’s published scores of books, hundreds of articles, and thousands of blog posts, with experience as a publisher, editor, and commercial freelance writer. A passionate wordsmith, his goal is to change the world one word at a time. Learn more at PeterLyleDeHaan.com.
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