Editing Talks with Books

[trappingoutbooks]

Books the creator back again, guys!

How many of you edit your own work? Do you edit anything for others? I myself am a pretty good editor but I haven't worked with many other people. Let's talk tricks of the trade and collaboration! Any tips? Does anyone need some editing for cheap? Let's talk!

[djourner]

I edit my work around 3 times before i post (but i'm not a pro editor)

I usually write a whole episode - wait a week - plot edit - wait another - vanity edit - wait another week - final edit

Plot edit is when I look at the whole plot of what i've written for that episode and the ones before and after so I can make sure there are no holes and that the action and drama feel concise.
Vanity edit is when i worry about synonyms and sonority of my writing, i usually read it aloud and interpret the characters at this point so it reads better and rolls of the tongue.
Then I do the final edit which is a final gramatical check and whatever i might have missed on the previous 2. I'm not a native english speaker so a lot of rules can fly past me, this is how i make sure not to sound too off for you guys ^^
The time in between also helps me come to it with a fresh mind.

I got a trick for every part of the editing process so it would be lenghty to say it all ^^

[trappingoutbooks]

That was actually rather insightful I appreciate this response

[djourner]

Thank you for the compliment.

If you see any of my posts on this forum you will know I tend to write whole essays here and I can go in great detail about why and how I do it.
But as I said I am not professional editor, and didn't want to just hog the conversation, I'm sure there are more qualified people than me to talk about this stuff and I'm eager to follow this discussion.

So this is me saying... The pleasure is all mine.

[cyborgmermaid]

I use a text-to-speech browser extension help me edit. Hearing it out loud not only helps me catch typos but also helps with the flow of each chapter.

[shfra13]

I've never edited someone else's story before, but I've helped some friends on checking their essays/papers to offer an insight on their writing. Though, of course, I'm not a pro.

There are times where I only do a quick check before and after posting my chapter, but when I'm doing a serious edit, I'll end up with several draft folders.

I usually go like: write the entire series freely, then let it sit for at least a week before jumping in to read it with other fonts (sometimes I use comic sans lol). This first edit phase includes more research and plot fact check. I usually write down what's happening within the chapter to compare it with other chapters. Then, I'll come back to chop the chapter (if I were to post it online) and/or any other editing (synonym, sentence flow, etc). After that, I might go for a forth edit or post it!

I don't edit on a first draft. I'll copy every chapter go another folder before making a major edit. For minor edits, though, will join the last draft of edit available.

[Crusoe]

Very insightful! I'm a pretty decent editor when it comes to academic writing, but fiction? I guess I do edit my own writing, but I don't have any special techniques for it

[AdairRoblesUrrutia]

I've found that I always seem to miss some grammar errors every time I go through and edit it myself. You need another set of eyes to look through it for grammar errors.

[djourner]

My personal trick for this one is to have a doc with my most commonly mispelled words and expression and on every chapter I use the find tool to help find them easily.
Also helpful for like a particular language vice you might have that appears on your writing, or if you want a character in the story to have a vice you don't default write in.

My personal nemesis is where
I always mistake were, we're and where.

[AnimeKitty]

I have this horrible problem where I want to constantly edit my first novel on here, Paint Me a Murder. Recently, I was finally like, okay put this story away for now and move on. I enjoy editing on my own and having others help me edit/rewrite, as I can't catch all errors myself. I wouldn't call myself an editor, since I'm no pro. Maybe something more like a reviewer? I love critiquing other people's works in book clubs on Wattpad (yeah, I'm surprisingly still on there)

Usually, I try to get the entire story written out before editing much. I'll go back and add little details and fix grammar issues, but I wait until the second draft to really polish things up. After that, I seek help from others for the third draft to catch anything I miss.

[cherrystark]

I consider editing and revising different things, but for both I work by feel. English is my first language. Spelling and grammar have always come easy to me but I still run my stuff through a spellchecker. If a section I'm working doesn't feel right, I rework the section right then and there before continuing to write. As a pantser, revising as I go is critical to my process because if I didn't, I could miss a flash of inspiration that would ultiimately improve my work had I waited.

When I do a serious review other people's work, I still judge by feel, but I look at how all the moving parts interact. For example since behavior is my thing, I'd look at the characteristics each characters' display and base my suggestions off those feelings. I use the same thought process when I write but I have to be a lot more detailed and explain my thought process when I work on someone else's stuff.