Need editing tips

[Caria Knight]

I'm new here but have written some stories that I'd like to submit. However, I'm nervous about proper grammer & puncuation. I was never very good with it in school. Do any of you seasoned authers have any good tips that they would like to share?

 

[P. B. Walker]

Use the volunteer editors. They are a great help to everyone. I would suggest emailed several (maybe as many as 10 or 12) asking them if they will edit your story. Describe your story (one or two sentences) and what category it falls into. If you have a deadline you might want to tell them that too. You will probably only hear back from a handful of them, but that's all you need. From that point, you can send your story to the one's that responded and they will most likely get comments and feedback to you within a week.

Good luck and happy writting.

- PBW

 

[Mickie]

Self-editing -- when you're done writing it, wait at least a week before editing. Longer, if you can stand it. Don't even look at it in that time period. Forget about it and go on to something else. Then, when you finally get to it, it will seem fresh to you instead of something you know line by line.

Then, read it aloud as it's written. If it sounds wrong, it probably is. If you try to change the words away from what you've got on paper as you speak them, you probably need to change them. If you pause, try a comma. If you don't pause, take the comma out. If you can't say the entire thing without stopping to breathe, the sentence is too long and should be broken up.

You're really the only person who can tell if the text says what you want it to say. Self-edit before sending to an outside editor. Save the time it'll take them to tell you what you already know.

Mickie

 

[Weird Harold]

If you're using a "full feature" word processing program, Like MS Word or WordpPerfect, do your spelling and grammar check one or two paragraphs at a time.

(Make sure you reset the spelling and grammar check to clear words you've ignored in the first pass. In MS Word go to tools/options/spelling&grammar tab. There's a button that says "recheck document.")

When your spelling or grammar check halts on a word or "problem" try to understand WHY it thinks there is a problem. (WordPerfect 8 is very good about explaining grammar faults.) Don't blindly accept the "suggestions" of spelling and grammar checks.