If you want to self-edit your manuscript, this is your guide. Editing your work yourself is a good practice and can improve your writing skills, even if you plan to hire an editor or query your manuscript.
This guide is available as a downloadable PDF. Once you purchase it, you will receive the files for the guide and the templates.
why i created this guide
I understand hiring an editor can be pricy and while I do work with budgets and offer payment plans, that may not suit every writer. I’d hate for anyone to have to query or self-publish their work unedited, so I created this guide to self-editing. Your only options should not be to pay a large fee for services you can’t afford or have unpolished work.
Self-editing is time-consuming, intense and can feel never-ending — especially if you don’t know exactly what you’re doing. It’s a skill that will improve with practice but may feel overwhelming initially. I hope this guide will be useful, ease your overwhelm and make your editing process smoother.
who it would benefit
This guide is a useful tool in your writing journey, regardless of whether you’re planning to query your manuscript to an agent, hire a freelance editor in the future, or if your eyes will be the only ones on your work before publication.
what it includes
Editing overview
Creating an outline (with a template)
Creating a timeline (with a template)
Creating character/place tables (with templates)
Developmental editing
Alpha reading/beta reading/critique partners
Line editing
Copy editing
Creating a style sheet (with a template)
Proofreading
How to use it
The guide is simple to use; it’s split into sections and each section has a contents page with clickable links to the corresponding pages. Additionally, each page has a sidebar with clickable links for easy navigation. The templates are in a separate file and, once downloaded, can be edited. If you have a tablet, you can open the guide and templates in a note-taking app by following the instructions below.
The guide and the templates are compatible with note-taking apps such as Notability, Goodnotes, Noteful, Noteshelf, Xodo, etc. Download the guide onto your device, and you should see a pop-up prompting you to choose which app to open the file in. Find your preferred note-taking app and it should open in there, ready for you to use. Repeat these steps for the template file — make sure you download the one titled ‘Templates – tablet users’. The pages on the template can be duplicated, and you can write in the template directly if you have a tablet pen or you can insert a text box.
sneak peek of the guide & templates
Each type of editing has its own section. As you can see, the contents page for developmental editing covers the major aspects. The guide is intended to give you the building blocks for self-editing by providing a broad overview. It’s not genre-specific, so it’s designed to work for anyone writing fiction.
The outline, timeline, character and place tables, and style sheet templates are easy-to-use and work on both desktop and tablet. They aren’t overly complicated and adjustments can be made according to your preferences. If you’re using a tablet, you can duplicate the pages for more space. If you’re using Microsoft Word, you can add more rows — or columns, if you’d like.
purchasing your guide
The guide will be available to purchase on Monday the 28th of September at 6pm (UK time).