Hi!
If you enjoyed Part 1 of The Process of Writing a Book, here’s Part 2.
After you’ve written your first draft, there will most likely be chapters you love and chapters you dislike. To start the editing process, I print out and read aloud my book either to myself or a friend, family member, etc. When I notice something that doesn’t make since, I mark it on the page.
At this time, it’s always good to have a friend or family member or even a person you don’t know very well, read your book and edit it. The reason for this is because you know your writing so well, that you could easily just not notice a missing word or not see a major plot error. I even ask my mom to read over the blog posts that I write. I want to thank all the people who have edited my books. Their feedback as been such a gift.
Sometimes, when you get your book back from someone after he or she has edited it, you might be surprised at all the things that are marked, even if you've received lots of really good feedback. But, the way to keep positive is to know that by taking the suggestions, you’re making your book as good as it can be. Here’s an example of a page my mom edited a few weeks ago.
If you enjoyed Part 1 of The Process of Writing a Book, here’s Part 2.
After you’ve written your first draft, there will most likely be chapters you love and chapters you dislike. To start the editing process, I print out and read aloud my book either to myself or a friend, family member, etc. When I notice something that doesn’t make since, I mark it on the page.
At this time, it’s always good to have a friend or family member or even a person you don’t know very well, read your book and edit it. The reason for this is because you know your writing so well, that you could easily just not notice a missing word or not see a major plot error. I even ask my mom to read over the blog posts that I write. I want to thank all the people who have edited my books. Their feedback as been such a gift.
Sometimes, when you get your book back from someone after he or she has edited it, you might be surprised at all the things that are marked, even if you've received lots of really good feedback. But, the way to keep positive is to know that by taking the suggestions, you’re making your book as good as it can be. Here’s an example of a page my mom edited a few weeks ago.
Here's a short list of things for you to look for when reading aloud your book:
- Misspellings, grammar errors, punctuation errors, etc.
- Plot issues Ex: In my 2nd book, I wanted Rusty to be an important part of the story so I had to weave her in to chapters where she didn't appear.
- How characters act and appear. Ex: If you’ve described them as smart, don’t have them say dumb things or if a character is short, they obviously can’t see over a tall man unless you explain that the man was sitting on the ground, etc.
- Anything that you may have changed as you were writing. Ex: My third book, is going to be set at a summer camp. I originally thought it would start on Sunday, but now it will be starting on Monday, so I'll have to go through each chapter and make sure I have the days correct.
- Whenever you make edits, you need to go back and reread that section to make sure you didn't introduce new errors.
Of course, there are lots more, but that will get you started. Below is an printable, free Edit Mark Sheet that I borrowed from this link.
I hope this is helpful to anyone who is considering writing a book. If you'd like more tips, visit this link.
I look forward to your feedback and would love to hear if this has helped you.
Sydney
I look forward to your feedback and would love to hear if this has helped you.
Sydney
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