Christine Hassett - Guide to Editing

Where are you up to?

Editing - You've finished writing and have structured your story but now need someone to check all the finer details.

Proofreading - Your book has been edited and now needs a final tidy up before printing or publication.

Layout & Design - Your book has been edited, proofread and you're ready to put it all together in a format people can read.

Beta Reading - You've finished the process and would like honest, constructive criticism before you publish or print.

For a more detailed explanation, click the titles below.

Editing

Once you've finished drafting your story, have self-edited (possibly more than once) and are happy with the structure, it's time to have it professionally edited.

Editing checks your writing line by line and word by word, improving and correcting where necessary to provide a smooth reading experience, all while ensuring your writer voice and style is maintained.

Some texts need more in depth editing than others such as rewriting sections and need several rounds of editing with more input from the author in between.

Editing checks:

The structure and organisation is readable, adding, deleting or rearranging sections where needed for clarity
Grammar, punctuation and spelling as well as hyphenation and capitalisation
Consistency of style and formatting such as paragraph styles, chapters, section breaks, dialogue punctuation
The language is clear and effective, removing cliches, awkward metaphors and redundant words
Consistency of storyline timeframes, places and character traits
Pace and flow is appropriate for the story arc
Tense and Point of View (POV), changing to active voice, showing not telling
Highlighting plot holes, poor character development, settings and themes
Any information is accurate and clear (may include fact checking)

Proofreading

People often get mixed up between proofreading and editing but they are different!

Whereas editing improves the quality of writing by enhancing the structure, flow and readability, proofreading finds and corrects the surface errors in spelling, punctuation and grammar.

Proofreading is the final stage of the writing process and should be carried out after your work has been fully edited (sometimes after several rounds of editing!).

Proofreading checks for:

Errors in spelling, punctuation and grammar
Inconsistencies in formatting (referencing styles, paragraph breaks and spacing, indents, text style, numbering, capitalisation)
Any other glaringly obvious errors such as inconsistencies in the storyline (change of character name part way or the table of contents not matching page numbers etc)

Layout & Design

You've written your book. It's been edited and proofread. Now it's time to put it all together in a professional reader-friendly format.

Whether for a paperback or an ebook, formatting can take time away from starting your next masterpiece (!) but it is a super important part of the process if you want your readers to enjoy their experience.

People do judge a book by its cover, and its interior!

Formatting involves:

Creating front matter (title page, copyright, contents list, dedication page)
Ensuring a consistent style throughout (chapters and headings, font and sizing, breaks, spacing, page numbering, margins, bleeds and gutters)
Adding any graphics or illustrations, photo placement, bullet lists, tables or other media
Creating back matter (about the author, acknowledgements, also by the author [can be front or back matter] or coming soon)

Beta Reading

Ideally, Beta reading should be carried out once your book has been fully edited, proofread and formatted and is ready for your target reader so they can feedback or 'critique' as they would an actual reader. Though sometimes authors use readers at earlier stages (AKA Alpha Reading). Beta feedback can be given in a detailed format and can help the author to decide if there are any areas that need last minute changes. The content of the feedback could also be used for marketing/review quotes. Beta reading does not involve any editing or proofreading of your work.

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