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    Self-Editing for Writers
    Self-Editing for Writers
    Self-Editing for Writers
    Ebook72 pages49 minutes

    Self-Editing for Writers

    By Ann Jacobs

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    About this ebook

    Ann Jacobs, multi-published author of bestselling, award-winning novels and novellas, takes you step by step through the selfl-edits you need to perform before presenting your book or novella to a publisher, a freelance editor, or the world in general.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAnn Jacobs
    Release dateJan 20, 2016
    ISBN9781524278700
    Self-Editing for Writers
    Author

    Ann Jacobs

    First published in 1996 Ann has sold over 100 romance novels, novellas and short stories to publishers including Berkley, Kensington, Loose Id, Changeling and more. Recently she has begun a new venture, self-publishing. Her first nonfiction book, SELF-EDITING FOR WRITERS,was released early this year, along with original and heavily revised romance novels and boxed sets. Romance is Ann's first love, and 2015 will mark the year she returns to her roots: the sensual, heartwarming love stories about hot, Alpha heroes and the strong women who inspire their love. Her books are divided between these and frankly erotic romances, which for the most part feature one man and one woman--but with fantasy story worlds and/or BDSM elements that take them out of the realm of mainstream romance.

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    • 2/5
      If you don’t know how to use autocorrect software that comes with writing programs, this book will tell you how to do that. This will tell you to fact check and not use random synonyms. This is for the writer who is maybe uncomfortable with grammar rules or technology, and if that doesn’t describe you and you wanted good editing advice, don’t bother.

    Book preview

    Self-Editing for Writers - Ann Jacobs

    Section I

    Introduction

    ––––––––

    One day when I was helping to proofread novellas for an anthology, I discovered that, while a writer of popular fiction doesn’t need to have earned a Ph.D. in English Grammar and Composition, he or she does need to perform a few simple self-editing functions in order to create works that will aid, not detract from readers’ ability to become engrossed in a compelling story line.

    The idea for this short, simple guide to self-editing sprang from my experience that weekend. No, I do not have a Ph.D. or even a bachelor’s degree in English grammar and composition, creative writing, or any closely related field. My academic credentials consist only of a four-year degree program—in accounting, not any of the liberal arts. I have never worked as a paid editor of either content or writing mechanics.

    So what makes me think I may be qualified to tell authors how they can polish their commercial fiction projects? First, I have sold over a hundred pieces of genre fiction including novels, novellas and short stories to a variety of publishers from major New York houses to well-known e-book publishers. I have also self-published successfully. I have written and produced many short how-to articles on various writing topics, and presented them at conferences and other gatherings of writing professionals.

    More important, I have a knack—some of my critique partners will say an unfortunate one—for spotting typos, punctuation errors, comma splices, misplaced modifiers, incorrectly used words, and so on. My English teachers in middle school and high school deserve the credit.

    Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on the circumstances, I happen to have the innate mindset for retaining seemingly inconsequential facts when the occasion arises. That makes me a horrible content editor because I can’t see through a forest of simple mechanical errors without a voice in my head screaming, every time I spot a misspelling, wrong tense, misplaced modifier or a malapropism (e.g., a misspoken or mistyped word that has a similar sound but a totally different meaning from the intended word).

    That same trait makes me a really good copyeditor. I can tell whether someone’s writing is technically correct, at least in the context of popular fiction, otherwise known somewhat derisively in literary circles as genre fiction.

    If an author is intent on selling his or her work, he or she can use the self-editing tips I’ve compiled in this book to improve the chances of that work being sold, whether to a publishing company or to end consumers via self-publishing. Readers’ tolerance levels toward books riddled with mechanical errors will range between zero and moderate.

    Self-editing for Writers is absolutely not a substitute for the second, third, or even fourth pair of critical eyes. Nobody’s work is so flawless that rough drafts should be tossed into a professional editor’s hand for a line edit—or God forbid, into a self-publishing template and on to an unsuspecting public.

    By taking the preliminary step of self-editing genre fiction, a writer can vastly improve his or her chances for getting successfully published and becoming beloved by editors and readers alike.

    Why Bother?

    Why bother with self-editing? An author’s best friends can be his editors, but every author will do himself or herself a favor by making his story as clean as it can be before passing it along to someone who may or may not see the storytelling gem that’s hiding inside.

    After

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