The Motivational Editor

Helping Writers Go from Unpublished to Published

self-edit

A Checklist of 10 Basic Steps for Self-Editing Fiction

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self-editing, red-lined edit of printed pageIf there’s one thing in the writing community that seems to cause overwhelm and confusion, it’s self-editing one’s manuscript.

Many new writers have the false belief that the first draft of their story is supposed to be publication ready, clean of errors and a gripping read—a home run, a slam dunk, a touchdown (plenty of sports analogies for you to pick).

Let me squash that belief right now.

Dead.

Like a bug.

Your draft is just that, a draft, the first writing of your story with your inner editor turned off. Some people call it [Read more…] about A Checklist of 10 Basic Steps for Self-Editing Fiction

Your Draft Is Done, Now It’s Time for Self-Editing

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self-editing, red-lined edit of printed page

Updated May 2025

Many beginning writers mistakenly believe that the first draft of their book is also their finished book. Nothing could be farther from the truth!

Your draft is not even something you want to send to a professional editor—a writing coach, yes, but not a professional editor.

After the draft comes self-editing, but many writers seem confused (and overwhelmed) about what this involves. It’s so much more than fixing punctuation, grammar, and typos. In fact, those are the last items you want to correct.

[Read more…] about Your Draft Is Done, Now It’s Time for Self-Editing