Any editing tips when editing your own work? Not sure yet how to find a balance in between, “wow, this sucks” and “wow, this is great” without harming the chance of the work improving. (Also, thanks for all that you do! It’s truly helped shape me into a better writer)
I’m so glad you’ve found the site to be helpful! Here are things to keep in mind when editing your own work…
1) We are our own worst critics. This is just a fact. So it’s important to learn the difference between self-doubt and a good gut instinct that something needs improvement. If your gut tells you something is good, it probably is. If your gut tells you something is bad, ask yourself the following questions:
am I tired/in a bad mood?
am I comparing myself to a more experienced writer/author?
has critical feedback pointed out a similar issue in the past?
can I see an obvious way to improve this?
Your answers to these questions may help you see the difference between self-doubt and a good gut instinct. Our mood, how we’re feeling, and what we’re currently reading can all play a role in how we interpret our own writing. Unless something falls under a skill that you’re already working on improving and you can see an obvious solution to the problem, chances are it’s just your gut being a “Negative Nellie.” In that case, try stepping away from it for a little while. Move on to a different part of the story and come back to it another day. If you still feel it’s an issue, try re-working it to see if you feel better about it. If all else fails, seek the advice of a trusted writer friend to see if they agree that there’s an issue.
2) In that same vein, when you sit down to edit your own work, try to make sure you’re well rested, in a good mood, relaxed, and free from distractions. Put on soft music, ambient lighting, maybe a candle or something to scent the air… whatever you normally do to feel relaxed when you write.
3) Knowing what to look for can also be a huge help when self-editing. A lot of the time, if you’re not looking for anything in particular, like crutch/filler words, typos, or poor sentence structure, your brain will start to see problems where they don’t exist. So, it’s a good idea to decide on your specific goal before doing an editing pass, and if you can focus on just a few things in each pass, that’s all the better. Look online for self-editing lists and worksheets that you can print out to make the process even easier. You can also read books like Self-Editing for Fiction Writers.
4) Always remember that your goal as a writer is to tell the best story you can tell in the best way you can tell it, but ultimately, it isn’t up to you to decide whether or not you’ve succeeded. It’s up to other people to tell you that, and the only way to do that is to seek feedback from others during your revision process. This is why it is so incredibly important to have a critique partner (or two or three) if you can find one, and at the very least a group of people you can ask to beta your work. If you offer to be someone else’s critique partner and volunteer to beta for other writers, you will have people willing to CP and beta for you. You have to put in the time and work for others if you want them to put in the time and work for you. I’m currently beta-ing two projects and reading another for one of my CPs. It’s just part of the job. And the feedback of your CPs and betas is going to boost your confidence in the things you do well, and confirm your concerns about the things you need to improve, which is why it’s so important. Once you’ve gotten a lot of feedback on your writing from others, it will be easier for you to tell the difference between self-doubt and things that may truly need improvement.
