So, you’ve just written the words “The End” on the final page of your novel, and are now wondering if your manuscript is ready for professional editing. Firstly, give yourself a huge pat on the back. Getting to the end is a huge achievement. Many people dream of writing a book, but far fewer see it through to a complete draft.

Hiring an editor is an investment, and you’ll get the best value from that investment if you send your manuscript at the right point. In this post, I’ll walk you through the signs that your novel is ready (and the signs it’s not quite there yet).

Why Timing Matters for Novel Editing

Professional editing isn’t about handing over a rough pile of words and expecting someone to “fix” it for you. Instead, think of editing as a collaboration. You bring the story – the heart and the voice and ideas – and your editor helps you shape it into the best possible version of itself.

If your manuscript is too early in the process, you risk wasting money on feedback you could have given yourself with one more round of self-editing. If it’s too polished, you may have overworked it and lost some of your original spark. The sweet spot lies in between.

Step One: Have You Finished a Full Draft?

It might sound obvious, but you’d be surprised how many writers want to start the professional editing while still midway through chapter twelve. A professional line edit or developmental edit is done on a complete manuscript. Until you’ve reached “The End”, your story is still in motion. And an editor can’t meaningfully assess a book that hasn’t fully unfolded.

Please note that although editing is done on a completed draft, you should probably start looking for an editor well in advance of this! Many of us book up months in advance, so as soon as you think you might be needing an editor at some point, please do get in touch!

So, first checkpoint: have you finished a full draft, beginning to end? If not, and you think you need editorial support, then you are best off looking for a book coach (also known as a writing coach) rather than an editor.

Step Two: Have You Revised It Yourself?

Finishing a first draft is brilliant, but let’s be honest: first drafts are usually messy. They’re where you figure out your characters, test plot twists, and often leave notes to yourself in square brackets like [insert something clever here]. That’s perfectly fine.

But before an editor sees it, give your manuscript at least one good self-edit. Here’s what to look for:

• Plot holes: Does the story make sense from start to finish?
• Consistency: Do your characters behave in line with their personalities? Does the setting stay consistent?
• Unnecessary repetition: Have you said the same thing in three different ways? (See my blog post about redundancy.)
• Basic typos and formatting: Don’t worry about perfection, but tidy up obvious errors. Listening to your manuscript out loud can really help with this.

A self-revised draft doesn’t have to be flawless, but it should be coherent and readable.

Step Three: Have You Had Some Distance from It?

Editing your own work is difficult when you’re too close to it. Every writer knows the feeling of reading the same sentence fifteen times and still not noticing a missing word.

That’s why it’s wise to step away for a little while before considering professional editing. A gap of even a few weeks can give you fresh perspective. When you return, you’ll spot things you couldn’t see before – and those revisions will save you time (and therefore money) when the editor comes in.

Step Four: Have You Shared It with Trusted Readers?

Before hiring a professional, it can be extremely useful to get feedback from beta readers or a writing group. They’re not a substitute for an editor, but they can highlight glaring issues such as confusing passages, flat characters, or pacing problems.

If you’re brave, ask your readers: where did you lose interest? That one question often reveals far more than general “I liked it” feedback.

Once you’ve absorbed those comments and made adjustments, your manuscript will be in a much stronger shape for an editor’s eye.

Signs Your Novel Isn’t Ready Yet

Sometimes it’s easier to recognise when you’re not quite there. If any of these apply, it may be worth another round of self-work before seeking professional editing:

• You know there are still missing scenes or unresolved subplots.
• You’ve only skimmed through for typos without addressing deeper issues.
• You feel reluctant to share it because “it’s not very good yet”.
• You secretly hope an editor will “rewrite” the book for you.

Remember, editing is about refinement, not rewriting.

Signs Your Novel Is Ready for Professional Editing

On the other hand, you’re probably ready if:

• You’ve completed at least one solid draft and revised it yourself.
• You feel you’ve taken it as far as you can on your own.
• You want an objective, expert perspective.
• You’re excited (even if slightly nervous) about feedback.

That last point is key – readiness often shows in your mindset. If you’re open to collaboration and willing to hear constructive criticism, you’ll get so much more out of the editing process.

What to Do Before Sending It Off

If you’re ticking the “ready” boxes, there are a few practical steps before hitting send:

1. Format consistently. Use a simple font (Times New Roman or similar), double spacing, and page numbers. Editors don’t need fancy layouts. If you don’t know how to do this formatting, don’t worry – your editor will adjust it for you.
2. Save a backup. Always keep a copy of your original file (but please don’t work on it while your manuscript is with your editor – having two version in play at once gets very messy very quickly!).
3. Write a short synopsis. It helps your editor see the big picture.
4. Be clear about your goals. Are you aiming to pitch agents, self-publish, or just improve as a writer? Your editor can tailor feedback accordingly.

Frequently Asked Questions About Novel Editing

1. How many drafts should you write before hiring an editor?

There’s no magic number, but most authors go through at least two or three drafts before seeking professional editing. The first draft is for getting the story down, the second is for fixing plot holes and character arcs, and the third is often where you refine prose. Once you feel you’ve taken the manuscript as far as you can on your own, that’s usually the right time to bring in an editor.

2. Should you hire a professional editor before querying agents?

In most cases, it’s wise to have your novel professionally edited before submitting to agents. Agents expect a high level of polish, and a well-edited manuscript has a far better chance of standing out in a crowded slush pile.

That said, agents (or publishers) may well choose to edit your manuscript once they have taken you on, so you might prefer to opt for an agent teaser edit. This looks at just the first 10,000 words (which is what most agents will be looking at when deciding to offer you a deal) – meaning you have something clean and sparkly to send off for querying, but haven’t spent more money than you need to.

3. What’s the difference between developmental editing and line editing?

Developmental editing looks at the big-picture elements of your novel including plot, structure, pacing, and character development. Line editing, on the other hand, focuses on the sentence-level details: tone, flow, word choice, repetition, grammar, spelling, punctuation, and clarity. Many authors start with developmental editing to strengthen the story itself, then move on to line editing once the narrative is solid.

4. Can editors fix a bad novel?

An editor can do wonders for your story, but they’re not ghostwriters. If the manuscript is unfinished or fundamentally not working, an editor will guide you with constructive feedback, but the heavy lifting still comes from you. Editing is about refining and elevating your work – but you remain in charge of your words.

And finally…

If you aren’t sure whether you are ready to have your novel edited, please do get in touch. I’m always happy to answer your questions! I also offer a manuscript appraisal service which involves me reading your manuscript and recommending the level of editing that will help your writing the most.

The post How to Tell If Your Novel Is Ready for Professional Editing: A Guide to Novel Editing appeared first on MandaWaller.

Equally, if you suddenly start describing things from another character’s point of view, this is called head-hopping. Head-hopping can result in your readers losing interest or engagement, and – even worse – it can become confusing.

You want your readers to fully engage with your characters – to love them or hate them, to want to be their friend or to loathe them with a passion. And to do this, you need to carefully manage the way you handle point of view.

But what about when something happens – that’s crucial for the plot – when the point of view character is absent? When they are unconscious, or asleep, or just somewhere else?

In this post I will give you some suggestions for how to handle the point of view character being absent, and demonstrate how to avoid head-hopping, but don’t forget that this is something your editor can help with, particularly if they offer developmental editing services.

Is the scene important?

The first question to ask when you find yourself writing a scene in which your point of view (POV) character is absent is whether the scene is actually critical. Every scene in your novel needs to have a purpose. It needs to advance the story and move the plot forward. Just adding character depth or interest is not a good enough purpose.

If the scene has no discernible purpose, delete it. There may be bits of prose you’ve spent hours agonising over, and sentences you are particularly fond of, but you can keep these and repurpose them in another scene.

Can your point of view character witness the scene, without being part of it?

Can your POV character be aware of the action, the events, the information being discussed, without actually being part of the scene?

Maybe they could be hiding in the hedge, watching through the foliage. In this example, they can obviously hear and see everything (or most things), so you can describe everything unfolding in front of them. There may be bits of the conversation that they can’t quite hear – and you can use this to your advantage if you want to mislead your character (and your readers).

Maybe they could be pretending to be asleep, overhear one side of a telephone conversation, or be hiding just outside the room and eavesdropping. In these three examples, the POV character can only describe what they can hear, so the narrative needs to reflect this. Don’t fall into the trap of describing visual elements too.

Can another character tell them about it later?

If major events happen when your POV character is absent, then another way to convey this information to your readers is for another character to report the events at a later point.

This can be done through dialogue – maybe your point of view character finds out that something important has unfolded, and interrogates a character who was present at the time. Maybe the details just come out naturally in conversation.

This way, your readers can know every detail witnessed by the character who was present. To add more twists and dimension, this character might be an unreliable witness, perceiving events through their own prejudice and assumptions.

Carefully construct a secondary point of view character

If none of the suggestions above quite match your intentions for the scene, then there’s the option of creating a second POV character. This means you can allow your readers full access to the events unfolding and provide them with your second POV character’s emotional response.

This is useful for portraying events which happened before your POV character was born (for example). To create a second point of view character, there are a few considerations to take into account.

Firstly, pick your character carefully. Ideally, this character needs to be central to the plot, but not appearing in many scenes. It would be incongruous to have just one chapter or scene from a character who appears throughout the book. Your readers will wonder why we only have access to them for the one occasion, and they are probably likely to see through this as a writing device.

Secondly, this second POV character needs to have their own scene. Jumping from your primary POV to your secondary POV within the same scene can easily descend into head-hopping (unless you are a seriously skilled wordsmith). Instead, use a section break (or, even better, a chapter break) to signpost to your reader that there has been a jump.

Thirdly, clearly and openly express that you are investing in a second POV character. It needs to be obvious from the very first sentence of this section that your readers are experiencing a different POV. This can be easily achieved by using their name as the first word in the scene:

James wasn’t happy with the way his life was going. Why did these things always happen to him? Had he been mean in a previous existence? Sometimes, he felt like he was wading through mud, just to keep still.
His shoulders tensed as he gazed out at the darkening day. A man – thickset and tall – was striding confidently towards the house. Was that a gun? Probably. Given the way his day was going, James was not at all surprised.
He ducked down beneath the sink. Please please make this all go away, he thought as something heavy hit the back door. Please don’t let me die today. I’m only thirty-two.
The back door flew open and James threw up his hands. “I surrender. Whatever it is you want, just take it!”
The intruder ignored him, marching past him into the hall and thumping up the stairs. What on earth did he want? “I haven’t got anything valuable,” James shouted. Which wasn’t true. He had the stones. And they were more valuable than gold.

In this example, we are firmly and instantly inside James’s head. Using free indirect speech (why did these things always happen to him?) rather than direct thought (Why do these things always happen to me? he thought) quickly brings the reader in really close and allows them an up close and personal relation with the new POV character.

Ideally, this new POV character should have a different voice from your main POV character. They should sound different – and I don’t mean give them an accent! Try using different sentence structures to indicate a different personality (perhaps they could be anxious and their narrative could be expressed in quick sentences, for example).

Switch Narrative Styles

It may be that you don’t have a character like James in your novel – who appears infrequently but is central to the plot. Maybe you don’t want to confuse your readers by developing a second point of view.

In this instance, you can draw the narrative viewpoint back to reveal just the observable evidence, and take away the emotion. Rather than create a three-dimensional character with thoughts and feelings, you can create someone who is only there to relay the facts.

To revisit the scene earlier where James is looking through the window and being sad about his existence:

A man – thickset and tall and carrying a gun – was walking confidently towards the house. James tried to hide, but it was useless as the back door burst open and the intruder marched in. “I surrender. Whatever it is you want, just take it!” James cried. The man pushed past him and stomped up the stairs. When he came back down, he was holding the stones. The stones that were more valuable than gold. And then, the man was gone.

In this example, there is no emotion. The scene is being described, really, from no one’s point of view. This omniscient lens results in detached writing which can allow you some freedom to describe scenes where the POV character is not present, but – because of the emotional detachment – this type of writing will not engage your readers.

It’s literally a description of events, with no perspective or emotional value added, so this narrative style should be used sparingly.

In conclusion

Take care with scenes that happen when your point of view character is absent. There are a number of devices you can use to avoid head-hopping, and when done carefully it’s perfectly possible to describe events that unfold without your POV character witnessing them. Don’t forget that your editor can help you with this as part of their line editing or developmental editing services, and please do get in touch with any questions.

The post When your Point of View Character is Absent appeared first on MandaWaller.

Of course hiring a freelance editorial professional is always going to elevate your manuscript to make it more readable and more marketable. But the better your manuscript is before you send it to a fiction editor for some professional attention, the better your final published book will be.

I’m a freelance editorial professional, and my job is to look at manuscripts and check for issues with punctuation, grammar, typos, word choice, pace and inconsistencies. But there are many things that you – the novelist – can do to elevate your manuscript before you look for a book professional to copyedit, line edit and proofread your book.

Below is part two of my list of self-editing tips for indie fiction authors – see here for part 1!

11 – Action Beats

Action beats are the actions that happen while people are speaking. They help to ground the dialogue – making your characters more three-dimensional and real.

When we talk to people, we rarely sit and just talk. We are also looking out of the window, sighing, picking up a biscuit, putting down a coffee cup, scratching a body part.

Action beats not only make the dialogue more natural and interesting, they can also tell us who is speaking.

Rachel scratched her nose. “Is it raining?”

The action beat (Rachel scratched her nose) is on the same line as the dialogue (“Is it raining?”) – in this context, this means that whoever did the action is the one doing the talking.

If there’s any confusion, you could also add the dialogue tag:

Rachel scratched her nose. “Is it raining?” she asked.

Now it’s 100% clear that it’s Rachel who is asking, but you haven’t had to use the name in the dialogue tag (meaning it’s a little less clunky).

Writing dialogue is tricky – and this is just another way to keep it more realistic, and to make it a little more interesting.

12 – Past Tense or Present Tense?

Present Tense

This can be more immediate, bring more intensity and make the reader feel like they are properly immersed in the story. However, it can be tricky to write.

Past Tense

Most novels produced today are written in the past tense. Partly because that’s what we are used to reading (making it easier to write), and partly because it does allow for more authorial control.

But Which is Better?

The short answer is that it doesn’t matter, as long as you remain consistent throughout your novel.

If you’ve written your novel in the past tense, make sure you haven’t accidentally slipped into the present tense.

And if you’ve written your novel in the present tense, make sure you haven’t accidentally slipped into the past (unless it’s a flashback).

13 – Contractions

Contractions are another useful way to make dialogue more realistic.

Examples of contractions:

Shouldn’t (rather than should not)

Haven’t (rather than have not)

Won’t (rather than will not)

Unless your characters are from a different era (when the contractions listed above were less prevalent), or you want your characters to seem a little pompous or formal, then contractions will help you make your dialogue more natural.

This applies to some genres more than others – for example, in YA novels, the main characters are generally teenagers, and most teenagers will speak using contractions, so I’d recommend always considering contractions in your dialogue.

The same applies to any novel set in contemporary times, unless you want your characters to speak more formally. If you listen to dialogue going on around us, it’s very (very) unusual to hear people speaking without contractions. Even King Charles uses them.

Whether you choose to use contractions in your narrative is up to you – but I’d argue that if you want your novel to feel accessible and natural then it’s a good idea to use contractions in your narrative too.

14 – Character Descriptions

How are you handling character descriptions in your novels?

There is a tendency for authors to infodump details of a character’s appearance. This is where the reader is given ALL the details – hair colour, eye colour, height, skin colour, hairstyle, length of legs, waist circumference – in one paragraph.

Although you might want your readers to see how your character looks, this is not a particularly interesting way to present the information.

Instead, my recommendation would be to drip-feed character description, and to weave it into the narrative so the reader can interpret it for themselves.

So rather than telling us that a tall, dark-haired man walked into the room, how about having him duck his head slightly as he walks through the door, and then in a later passage describe how his dark hair is damp from the rain?

This shows us how a character looks (rather than telling us) and provides more character depth.

15 – Overuse of Stage Directions

Sometimes authors write a book in the same way as they would write a screenplay – describing in great detail how a character is moving and the steps necessary to perform a task or get from A to B.

A typical example of over-use of stage direction would be:

He opened the car door and climbed into the driver’s seat, shutting the door behind him. Putting on his seatbelt, he put the key in the ignition, turned the key until the engine sprang to life, then put the car in gear, released the handbrake and pulled away.

Most of this detail isn’t needed. And – let’s face it – it’s incredibly boring. Instead, you could simply say that he got in the car and drove away.

The only time this kind of detail would be necessary is when something happens that’s out of the ordinary. Maybe the driver is interrupted by something extraordinary as he’s starting the car, or maybe the driver is in fact from a different planet and has some kind of physical difference that makes the process of starting the engine difficult.

But most of the time it’s better to leave this detail out. The reader will work it out for themselves.

16 – Tentative Language

Are you using tentative language in your novel?

Examples of tentative language:

Frank goes to switch off the light (rather than Frank switches off the light)

Rachel started to stand up (rather than Rachel stood up)

If Frank was interrupted on his way to switching off the light, or something stops him from performing his task, then the tentative language is needed:

Frank goes to switch off the light, but Rachel stops him.

If Rachel was interrupted as she moved into a standing position, then once again tentative language is needed:

Rachel started to stand up, but the pain shot through her ankle.

But if nothing unusual happens to interrupt these actions, the tentative language is just giving your writing an undertone of uncertainty and a lack of definition.

If you remove the uncertainty and remove the tentative language, it can make your readers subconsciously feel better about your book.

17 – Too Much Description

Lots of authors visualise a scene as they are writing it – and sometimes this can result in too much description that doesn’t add anything to the tone, scene-setting or plot.

It’s honestly not necessary to describe a room in all its glorious detail – unless those details are pertinent.

Do your readers really need to know the precise location of the couch in relation to the window?

Is the colour of the curtains adding anything?

Avoid using unnecessary description.

18 – Chapter Endings

It’s important to keep your readers engaged, and keep them reading.

Chapter endings can play a big part in this – a well-written, well-timed chapter ending will prevent your readers from putting your book down.

Nailing chapter endings comes down to three things: cliffhangers, foreshadowing and timing it right.

Cliffhangers

Ending your chapter with a who-fired-the-gun cliffhanger will keep your readers turning the pages. However, not every chapter needs to end in a cliffhanger. This would be a lot of work to write, and would also be exhausting to read.

Foreshadowing

Ending your chapter with a glimpse of something that’s going to happen in the future can add a touch of intrigue – not as dramatic as a cliffhanger, but still engaging.

Timing it right

Often towards the end of a chapter there will be some action or some drama … followed by a paragraph or two of less exciting closing details where the characters say goodbye to each other, leave the room, put the phone down.

These less exciting details can frequently be removed – readers will know that people leave the room/put the phone down/say goodbye.

It’s better to leave the chapter at the drama point, rather than unnecessarily tie up loose ends.

19 – Make it Look Professional

It’s conventional in novels for the first line in each paragraph to be indented EXCEPT for the first paragraph in a new chapter or section.

The first paragraph in a new chapter or section needs to remain flush left.

Try not to use tabs to indent your manuscript – this will result in inconsistent indents (and it’s a lot of extra keys to press!).

Instead, if you are using MS Word, you can use the built-in styles.

If you don’t know how to use MS Word’s styles, then just use the sliding tab that appears at the top of the page as part of the ruler.

Using indents properly will mean that when someone opens your book for the first time, it will look like it’s been properly formatted.

20 – Remove those Double Spaces!

We used to add two spaces after a full stop/period. This dates back to when we were using typewriters, to make sure there was enough space after a full stop to help the reader spot a new sentence.

We no longer need to add these two spaces after a full stop/period, as computers do a great job of adjusting the spacing for us.

A lot of us still automatically include two spaces – if this is you, then it’s a really easy thing to fix when you’ve finished your manuscript. Just search for two spaces and replace them with one.

In Conclusion

This is part two of my self-editing tips for fiction authors – please see here for part 1. And if any of the above tips are unclear, please do email me – I’d love to hear from you.

The post More Self-Editing Tips for Fiction Authors appeared first on MandaWaller.

The better your manuscript is before you send it to a fiction editor for some professional attention, the better your final, published book will be.

Authors and editors can work together to ensure better readability – this in turn will make your book more marketable and will result in better reviews.

I’m a freelance editorial professional, and my job is to look at manuscripts and check for issues with punctuation, grammar, typos, word choice, pace and inconsistencies. But there are many things that you – the novelist – can do to elevate your manuscript before you look for a book professional to copyedit, line edit and proofread your book.

Below is part one of my list of self-editing tips for indie fiction authors – see here for part 2!

1 – Let It Rest

When you’ve finished writing your first draft, and you’ve just typed “THE END”, should you start self-editing immediately?

You may be relieved to have reached the end of your manuscript, and you may need a break (everyone is entitled to a holiday, even full-time writers!).

However, you might be tempted to jump straight back to the start and begin the first round of self-editing.

Either way, it’s best not to start editing immediately. Put your manuscript in a digital drawer and leave it to percolate, ferment, breathe.

How long you do this for is up to you, but I’d recommend a minimum of two weeks.

During this time, you don’t have to stop writing, but you should try really hard not to tinker with your manuscript.

When you come back to your manuscript, you will find that you have a different perspective, and you are far more likely to pick up on far more things than if you’d barrelled straight into the editing process immediately.

Giving yourself a break is good for you, and good for your manuscript!

2 – Dialogue Tags

Is it possible to nod words? Or smile them? Or shrug them?

I’d argue that none of these work as dialogue tags (with certain exceptions – some fantasy sub-genres being one of them).

It might just about be possible to cough, sigh, hiccup or laugh a word. But definitely not a sentence.

And you really can’t sneeze words. Except maybe “aachoo”.

The safest dialogue tags are said, asked, replied. Whispered, shouted, mumbled, yelled are also perfectly fine.

I’ll leave you with these fine examples (which I’d recommend you avoid!): posited, opined, husked, ejaculated.

Note:
– If your dialogue ends with a comma before the closing quotes, what comes after the closing quotes is a dialogue tag.
– if your dialogue ends with a full stop or period before the closing quotes, what comes after the closing quotes is an action beat.

3 – That

There are a lot of people who don’t like the word “that” when it’s used as a conjunction. I’ve heard stories of authors being told to remove them all from their manuscripts.

Sometimes, the word “that” is necessary for clarity, pace or tone. But sometimes it’s just not needed.

Have a look at this:
I knew that he was going to be late -vs- I knew he was going to be late.
It was obvious that she was younger than him -vs- It was obvious she was younger than him.

In both these examples, the word “that” can be removed without affecting the meaning or clarity. You could possibly argue that the tone is slightly different, and of course that’s the author’s call.

However, if a word can be removed without impacting on clarity or meaning, it’s an indication that its use should be reviewed.

Removing the “that”s in the sentences above removes clutter, and this is always something to be promoted.

There ARE some sentences where the word “that” is needed as a conjunction:

I’ve heard that you snore -vs- I’ve heard you snore

The second example (I’ve heard you snore) could mean two different things (I’ve heard THAT you snore, or I’ve heard you snoring), so in this case, the word that is needed for clarity.

4 – Strong Verbs

You’ve probably heard how editors don’t like adverbs.

This is because the presence of adverbs often indicates the presence of weaker verbs.

(An adverb is just a word that modifies a verb – so in the sentence “I ran quickly”, the word “quickly” is an adverb, modifying the verb “to run”.)

Have a look at the verbs you are using in your manuscript.

Do you find yourself leaning on adverbs to support weaker verbs?

Are your characters running quickly (when they could be sprinting), walking cautiously (when they could be tiptoeing), speaking quietly (when they could be whispering), speaking quickly (when they could be blurting)?

Often, adverbs are an indicator that your narrative (or dialogue) could be strengthened by reviewing your verbs.

5 – Lengthy Monologues

Have a look at your dialogue.

Do you have large paragraphs where one person is constantly speaking?

This doesn’t tend to happen in real life.

Even when someone is giving a speech, they are still looking around the room, looking down at their notes, taking a sip of water, pointing at something on the screen.

In everyday conversation, when someone is talking it’s very rare for them to go on for too long without being interrupted, or without the other people in the room saying or doing something.

Not only is it unrealistic to have lengthy uninterrupted monologues in your novel, it also results in a lack of white space on the pace. Solid blocks of text make your manuscript harder to read, and too many of them are likely to put your readers off (even if only subconsciously).

So this tip is to review your lengthy monologues and see if they can be broken up with action beats, or other characters joining in.

6 – Removing Redundancy

Can you shrug any part of your body except your shoulders?
(he shrugged his shoulders becomes simply he shrugged)

Can you kick any part of your body except your feet?
(she kicked the ball with her foot becomes simply she kicked the ball)

Can you clasp with anything other than your hands?
(he clasped the paper in his hand becomes simply he clasped the paper)

It’s important to remove unnecessary clutter, and to make every word count.

7 – Removing Repetition

Repetition is not just about words that have been duplicated (although obviously these need removing!) – it can happen in multiple, unexpected ways.

A really common (and often overlooked) one is where the narrative repeats what the dialogue has just told us:

“Hello.” Rebecca greeted me.
“I would like to explain.” David felt the need to clarify.

In both these examples, the narrative is unnecessarily repeating what we have just been told in the dialogue.

Another type of repetition relates to adverbs:

He yelled loudly. (The adverb “loudly” is repeating what we’ve been told by the verb “yell”.)
He briefly summarised. (The word “summarise” means to make something briefer, so the adverb “briefly” is repeating what we have been told by the verb “summarise”.)

Removing repetition removes clutter and brings more definition to your writing.

8 – Unnecessary Timeline Nudges

Do you need to include timeline nudges in your novel?
(Timeline nudges are words like then, after, while, before, with that.)

Often, authors think that readers need these nudges, so they can keep track of what’s going on. However, the sequence in which you write events indicates the sequence in which they happen.

You don’t need to say “X happened then Y happened”.
Instead, you can say “X happened, and Y happened” and the reader will understand that Y happened after X.

Using timeline nudges too frequently can be distracting – and your readers can end up focusing more on when things happen, and less on what you are trying to describe on the page.

Removing these nudges removes clutter and brings more definition to your writing.

9 – As You Know, Bob

So what on earth is As You Know, Bob? Also called Maid and Butler Dialogue, it’s when the characters on the page share information that everyone present already knows – purely so the reader can know it too.

Have a look at this:

“I heard your wife, Rebecca, is learning the piano?”

The person being addressed clearly already knows that their wife is called Rebecca – the only reason the writer has presented it this way is so that the readers can know all about Rebecca too.

Instead, it would be better to write it as:

“I heard Rebecca is learning the piano?”
“Yes, my wife is a very talented woman.”

This then tells us all the information, in a more natural way.

With longer, more complicated pieces of information, it might be a good idea to introduce a new character who doesn’t have all the facts, so the other characters can discuss the details with them, and thereby keep the reader fully informed.

10 – Vocatives

Are you overusing vocatives in your novel?

A vocative is a word that’s used to address someone – normally a name.

In real life, we don’t tend to use people’s names very often in conversation. Maybe at the start, when we first meet them, we might say “Hello, Name”, but then during the natural course of the conversation, we would be unlikely to repeat their name many times.

If there are only two people present, we might not use their name at all.

And if there are multiple people present, we might use a name to make sure everyone knows who we are talking to, but we might also look at someone, nudge them or tap them on the shoulder.

Often, authors use names in dialogue far more than is natural. Have a look at your dialogue – have you used names too frequently?

If you are worried that the reader isn’t going to follow who is speaking/being addressed, this is what dialogue tags and action beats are for.

Dialogue is really hard to write, and this is just one way to make it sound more natural.

In Conclusion

This is part one of my self-editing tips for indie fiction authors – please see here for part 2. And if any of the above tips are unclear, please do email me – I’d love to hear from you.

The post Self-Editing Tips for Fiction Authors appeared first on MandaWaller.

A copyeditor will help you with these concerns, but if you can address some of them yourself, you will save your editor time (and therefore save yourself some money).

1. Formatting

Manuscripts should be delivered to the copyeditor in the right format – normally this will be a Microsoft Word document (but check this with your editor first).

Make sure you use page breaks between each chapter (CTRL-enter will do this for you), rather than hitting the paragraph return multiple times to push a new chapter onto a new page.

In fiction, the first line in each paragraph is indented (1.27 cm is the standard) except for the first paragraph of a new section/chapter, which is flush left. Use proper indents rather than hitting the tab key.

Double space your manuscript (format this properly, don’t just hit return at the end of each line), and set the typeface to something sensible (most editors will ask for Times New Roman, 12 pt).

2. Overusing Adverbs and Adjectives

While adverbs and adjectives can enhance your writing, their overuse can lead to wordiness and weaken your prose. Instead, focus on choosing strong verbs and nouns to convey your message effectively.

Be selective in your use of modifiers to maintain conciseness. Rather than running quickly, let your characters sprint or hurry.

I’ve written a separate blog post about adverbs which discusses how there are strong adverbs and weak adverbs, and when best to use them.

3. Lack of Consistency

Inconsistencies in character names, settings, and timelines can confuse readers and disrupt the narrative flow.

Your copyeditor will generally create a style sheet as they are working through your manuscript – documenting each editorial decision about spelling choice, and including a brief description of each of your characters to make sure they don’t suddenly change eye colour (unless it’s deliberate!).

However, if you keep a style sheet of your own, this will help you to be consistent as you write/self-edit, and it will also be a massive help to your editor. This will save both you and your editor a lot of time and effort.

4. Show, Don’t Tell

One common mistake is “telling” the readers what’s happening instead of “showing” through descriptive details and actions.

Allow readers to immerse themselves in your story by painting vivid scenes and letting them draw their conclusions.

Lots of writers are told to “show, don’t tell”, without anyone explaining to them what this really means. I’ve untangled some of the misconceptions in my blog post about balancing show and tell.

5. Weak Dialogue

Dialogue is a powerful tool for character development and plot progression. Authors often make the mistake of creating dialogue that feels forced or unrealistic.

To improve your dialogue, eavesdrop on real conversations, pay attention to speech patterns, and make sure each character has a distinct voice. See my blog post about strengthening dialogue.

In Conclusion

Writing and editing are integral parts of the author’s journey. By avoiding these five common writing mistakes and being diligent in your editing process, you can significantly improve the quality of your manuscript before you send it to an editor – this will save your editor time, and save you money!

The post Five Common Writing Mistakes appeared first on MandaWaller.

Formatting (probably the most productive way to self-edit a novel)

• make your manuscript double spaced
• use Times New Roman, font size 12
• delete all double spaces (replace with single space, even after a full stop/period)
• delete all tabs
• indent entire document to 1” margin
• justify the document to the left
• use a page break between each chapter (ctrl-enter will give you a page break on a PC) – never use multiple paragraph returns to force a new page!
• if you know how to use Word Styles, apply a style to each chapter heading

Quick checks

• run your manuscript through a spell-checker – it will pick up the worst offenders
• do not run your manuscript through Grammarly. Many of the suggestions made by Grammarly are not right! You will be wasting your time trying to work out which suggestions to apply, and it will increase the editing time if an editor has to undo all your changes!

Punctuation

• does every paragraph end in a full stop/period?
• is every full stop/period followed by a capital letter?
• have you used single quotes or double quotes consistently? It doesn’t matter which you choose, so long as it’s consistent.
• check your use of it’s – this word only means it is. It is NEVER possessive!
• is there punctuation at the end of every piece of dialogue, inside the final speech marks?

Dialogue

• does the dialogue for a new speaker start on a new line? (It should!)
• have you used sensible dialogue tags? (Preference is for said!)
• where there are only two people speaking, have you said who is speaking on every line? (This is not necessary, the reader can work it out if you throw in an occasional name.)
• have you put a comma in front of a name when someone is being addressed? For example “Nice to meet you, David.” (This is a vocative comma, and it’s important!)

Consistency

• are all your characters’ names spelled consistently throughout the book?
• did you change a character’s name at any point? Is the old name still there somewhere?

Of course, if you’d rather not take these steps to self-edit a novel, then that’s absolutely fine. I address each of these points as I work my way through a manuscript. For further information on prices, or to receive a detailed quote, please get in touch.

The post How to Self-Edit a Novel appeared first on MandaWaller.

It’s a fantastically versatile, useful piece of software, and is also surprisingly intuitive.

The editing process can be quite daunting for an author, and I’m aware that seeing your lovely manuscript covered in red pen can be a little overwhelming. I always provide two versions of your edited text – one showing all my suggested amendments, allowing you to review and accept or reject each individual suggestion, and one with all my suggestions pre-approved, meaning that you can see your edited manuscript and read it without the distractions of lots of red pen.

Some authors prefer not to see the detail of my suggestions. They read the final version, can see that it’s much improved, and simply choose to accept the clean version of their manuscript. Other authors prefer to see the nuts and bolts of an edit, to understand why certain changes have been made, and to learn from this information.

Self-Edit and Save Money

Reviewing each and every change can be an arduous task. But it can also help you to understand the nature of my suggestions, meaning that with subsequent manuscripts you can apply these changes yourself, before sending the file to an editor. Doing some basic housekeeping and some introductory editing yourself will mean that your manuscript will need to spend less time with a professional editor, and therefore the editing process will cost you less.

With this in mind, I’ve put together a brief, ten-minute webinar that will talk you through Track Changes. The demonstration manuscript used in the Webinar is one that I own. I would never share the details of a manuscript that’s been sent to me. Please note that the manuscript contains some profanity.

The webinar shows you a file that is similar to the red-pen version you will receive from me. It shows my comments, my suggested formatting changes and all the inserted and deleted text.

The MS Word Track Changes Webinar will show you how to:

• review, reply, resolve and delete comments
• review and accept a suggested amendment and move to the next
• review and reject a suggested amendment and move to the next
• accept all changes

I hope that you find it useful – if there is anything else that you’d like me to cover, please get in touch.

The post MS Word Track Changes Webinar appeared first on MandaWaller.

How to identify and remove repetition and redundancy in your fiction writing.

You might have heard the phrase ‘make every word count’. And you might have heard that ‘tight writing is good writing‘. But what do these phrases actually mean? What constitutes ‘tight writing’? What words might not be necessary? And what exactly is ‘telling twice’? Telling twice falls into two categories: REPETITION and REDUNDANCY.

There are four main areas where novelists fall into the trap of OVERWRITING, particularly when new to the craft:
– Over-direction
– Excessive timeline nudges
– Over-description
– Repetition and Redundancy (telling twice)

Many authors imagine scenes in their heads in a visual way. They see the characters as they move and interact. As a result, when they cast these imaginings into words they frequently over-describe the detail of what they are seeing. They underestimate the reader’s ability to work things out for themselves. In this final part of a four-part blog series, I offer a quick guide to understanding (and dealing with) the last of these issues – REPETITION and REDUNDANCY, OR TELLING TWICE.

1. Repetition

Repetition doesn’t necessarily mean repeating the same words. There are many (many!) ways to repeat yourself when writing a novel.

Punctuation

Firstly, punctuation. How can you repeat yourself using punctuation? See below!

“What?” she asked.
“What!” she exclaimed.

Both of these speech tags (she asked, she exclaimed) are repeating information already given to us by the punctuation within the speech marks (the question mark in the first example, the exclamation mark in the second). It’s not necessarily a bad thing – but if the speech tag isn’t required, then it’s better to leave it out. Let the punctuation speak for itself.

Have a look at this example:

Original: “That’s not—” She was interrupted before she could finish the sentence.
Edited: “That’s not—”

This is actually a TRIPLE tell. The em dash (—) is the punctuation mark to indicate that speech has been interrupted. Then the narrative states that she was interrupted. Then the narrative states that the interruption happened before she could finish her sentence. Where else would an interruption be?

This could quite simply stand as: “That’s not—”

Dialogue

Dialogue can quite often stand on its own, without the need for embellishment. But sometimes writers don’t trust their dialogue enough, and feel the need to back it up with a narrative explanation.

“I’m really worried about you.” David expressed his concern.

See the above example. It’s stating the same thing twice. First, the dialogue tells us that David is concerned. Then the narrative repeats the sentiment.

“I’m going to explain.” David felt the need to clarify.

Again, the speech, on its own, is perfectly sufficient. But there is a temptation to explain the speech within the narrative. In both the above examples, the dialogue/speech would stand perfectly well on its own, without a narrative explanation.

Adverbs

Lots of people (particularly editors) don’t really like adverbs. This is because adverbs can sometimes be used to strengthen a weak verb, when actually a stronger verb would have been a better choice. For example, “He stood up quickly” could be strengthened to “He jumped up”. But also, adverbs can be involved in a double-tell.

The snowflake floated slowly [can a snowflake float quickly?]
The man shouted loudly [can a shout be anything other than loud?]
The boy whispered quietly [can a whisper be anything except quiet?]
The athlete quickly sprinted away [is it possible to sprint in any other way?]
He briefly summarised the main points [can you summarise something in a lengthy way?]

In all of the above examples, the adverbs are unnecessary. They are effectively repeating the meaning of the verb. They add nothing except clutter.

Unnecessary Body Parts

Another example of a double-tell is when body parts are mentioned unnecessarily. He shrugged his shoulders (what else can you shrug?). She nodded her head (what else would you nod?). He clutched the papers in his hand (where else would you clutch them?). The default position is to clutch something in your hand. It’s possible to clutch something elsewhere, but unlikely. And if it’s being clutched anywhere except in your hands, then it’s fine to clarify. Maybe clutching a rose between your buttocks, for example.

Adjectives

The final example of a double-tell is where multiple adjectives – with almost identical meanings – are used consecutively.

The book was old and ancient.
The ground was firm and hard.

In the first example, old and ancient mean the same thing. Only one is needed. In the second example, firm and hard both mean the same thing. Again, only one is necessary.

2. Redundancy

She wore a blue-coloured sweater.
He placed the oval-shaped mirror on the wall.

Both these sentences contain a redundant word. In the first example, the word ‘coloured’ is surplus to requirements. In the second, ‘shaped’ can be removed. So these become:

She wore a blue sweater.
He placed the oval mirror on the wall.

There is literally no change to the meaning of either of these sentences. Removing the superfluous words has no impact on the text. This is a classic case of redundancy.

Once you start looking for it, redundancy is everywhere:

They combined their winnings together. [Redundancy: together]
It was small in size. [Redundancy: in size]
He returned back to his seat. [Redundancy: back]
She was shorter in height than him. [Redundancy: in height]

That

I’ve heard of writing classes where students are instructed to revisit their manuscript and analyse every use of the word ‘that’. Although sometimes it’s necessary to include this word to maintain clarity, it can – very frequently – be removed completely. Specifically, when used in the following three situations.

1. After reporting verbs

He claimed that he didn’t know. [Becomes: He claimed he didn’t know.]
She suggested that it was wrong. [Becomes: She suggested it was wrong.]
She told me that she wasn’t going. [Becomes: She told me she wasn’t going.]

2. After adjectives

I’m disappointed that we aren’t going. [Becomes: I’m disappointed we aren’t going.]
He was sad that the party was cancelled. [Becomes: He was sad the party was cancelled.]
It’s unlikely that I will finish my homework. [Becomes: It’s unlikely I will finish my homework.]

3. As objects in relative clauses:

She loved the book that she’d bought. [Becomes: She loved the book she’d bought.]
He hated the book that he’d given her. [Becomes: He hated the book he’d given her.]
The tap that you fitted is broken. [Becomes: The tap you fitted is broken.]

Removing THAT in these circumstances definitely reduces redundancy, without affecting clarity. De-cluttering a sentence like this makes your writing infinitely smoother and more sophisticated.

In summary

Removing redundancy and repetition is ALWAYS a good idea. Even in the most literary novels, using words that mean the same thing adds nothing but clutter. Of course, there are words which are very similar but with subtly different meanings, and it’s completely acceptable to use these side by side – so long as the subtle differences are adding something, and that this is done consciously.

Repetition frequently happens when an author either doesn’t trust their writing to convey the correct meaning, or doesn’t trust the reader to comprehend, or both. The examples of repetition and redundancy that I’ve illustrated above will never help to make meaning clearer. Instead, they add words where words are not necessary. In this case, less (or fewer) is definitely more.

As a writer becomes more confident in their abilities, they will learn to trust their word selection, and trust their readers. They will learn to make every word count.

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