Ideally, the author will be comfortable with undertaking one or more rounds of proofreading the manuscript. While some authors prefer to write and then proof their work one chapter at a time, others will prefer to defer the proofreading and editing process until the entire manuscript has been fully written.
That being said, I am going to suggest here that authors consider the proofing process for only after completion of the entire manuscript. As an author myself and from what I have found in research on the subject, most authors typically wait until completion of their manuscript before editing because in large part they have found it just too confusing or distracting otherwise. Getting entangled in referencing a dictionary and thesaurus and making multiple revisions while still writing the manuscript can lead to lost focus in terms of the fluid movement of creative thought processes during the writing session. First and foremost, get the 'story down on paper', on or offline, and then go back to check your work later.
- Rule No. 1; Know Your Publisher Guidelines: Regardless of which publisher you have decided to work with for your book or novel publication(s), each publisher has their own posted 'Content Guidelines' and 'Formatting Guidelines' along with any secondary guidelines they may link for their customers. I cannot stress enough the important of authors being fully conversant with all publisher guidelines before commencing the manuscript writing process. Read the guidelines provided thoroughly and a multiple of times over if necessary to ensure that you are aware of critical elements of those guidelines. Develop your manuscript content in strict accordance with the guidelines to avoid outright rejection of the manuscript on submission and also frustration and time-consuming, costly efforts to go back through the manuscript to resolve all conflicting issues. The publisher is providing the publishing and distribution means for your manuscript and possibly some supportive exposure/marketing help along the way and their expectation is a clean, well-developed and presented product to be made available under their name.
- Rule No. 2; Create a Formatted Document Template In Advance: Again, this is critically important! In order to avoid a whole lot of frustration finding post-writing formatting conflicts that can be a lengthy process to resolve, study the formatting guidelines of the publisher and start the manuscript development process by FIRST opening a new Word document and adjusting the document formatting settings, primarily in the 'Font' 'Paragraph' and 'Page Layout' control settings found at the top of your viewing window. Guidelines will help with this process but some of the settings will include your preferences. Do not hesitate to research online or seek the help of a friend or your editor to ensure this critical step is done correctly. I will include more detail on this topic in a later article post here on the Key Word Blog.
The Self-Editing & Proofreading Process:
- Set the Manuscript Aside: When you reach the 'finish line' with the writing of your manuscript, then is a good time to set the manuscript aside for at least several days before beginning the self-editing process. Why? Writing a manuscript for publication is a hugely painstaking and often exhaustive process for many writers and when it is finally all said and done in the best possible fashion many writers are weary, eye-fatigued, physically tired and sore from being hunched over the keyboard/desk for hours on end. Taking a break for several days will help you unwind from the self-pressures of meeting your targeted completion date and finessing your content. Take a breather to refocus!
- Round 1; The First Read Back: Now you're refreshed, excited that your treasured book or novel has been written and it's time to get down to taking a careful look at your manuscript with fresh eyes and mind for an overall assessment of your content to ensure it has captured the essence and is presented in a clean, fluid conveyance. Professional editors will tell you that editing and proofreading is a multi-layered process. The first round of reading back is typically focused on the developmental, structural, substantive and stylistic components of the manuscript compilation and its presentation. Is your content interesting, entertaining, informative, compelling to the point of fully engaging you as a purchasing consumer? Is the overall integrity of structural elements in place? Are ideas/concepts fluid, easily read and understood? Is the storyline consistent and without conflict throughout each chapter and beyond. Have the characters been effectively developed to bring relatable depth to the story? Are any elements of the content ambiguous, confusing or somehow detached and inconsistent? Does the manuscript have that critical 'WOW' factor that makes the reader want to buy again and again for future publications you write?
- Round 2; The Second Read Back: The follow-up rereading of the manuscript is typically spent focusing on the proofreading elements of the content; the spelling, grammatical, punctuation, sentence and paragraph composition elements throughout. Best practice for this round is the use of an open version of an online or offline dictionary and thesaurus as a reference tool such as Dictionary.com for quick clarification. Watch for spelling errors which, in MS Word documents, are typically indicated by a solid red colored, wavy underline. A quick search on the dictionary site will clarify correct spelling. For words or phrases with a green underline (typically grammar issues) run the built-in Word Spelling/Grammar Check utility which will offer suggested changes to wording that will resolve the conflicting grammatical elements. The green colored underlining will often mean a 'sentence fragment' (and indicated as such) whereby the sentence is incomplete because of missing words including grammatical elements. Make use of online grammar tools such as Grammarly to ensure that your manuscript presentation is at its best.
- Clear & Concise: Keep your manuscript content as free as possible from superfluous, unnecessary filler words and fluff. Don't over-embellish your content to the point where your readers will begin to feel distracted/disinterested. Stay on point using short sentences and paragraphs to maintain reader excitement and interest. Avoid repetition and redundancy. Watch for repeated use of words or phrases. Re-word those repeat elements to keep the storyline fresh and moving forward.
- Flesch-Kincaid Readability Scoring: The broader, more general your targeted reading audience, the more concerned you should be about readability of your published book content. Statistically (US standard) the average reading grade level can be expected at between grade 7 and grade 8. If the readability scoring is at a much higher level of reading ability you are likely alienating a large segment of your targeted reading audience. When you run the MS Word Spelling/Grammar Check scan, a Flesch-Kincaid readability scoring is presented for your easy reference after the scan is completed. Pay special attention to this grade level readability and where the scoring is high, for a targeted broad, general reading audience you should take the necessary time to review your content front to back and clarify with alternative wording.
- Breaks In Editing Sessions: Take care to step away from the editing process every couple of hours to stretch and give the eyes and mind a rest. Editing is a very painstaking, intensive word for word, line by line review process and with fatigue, physically and mentally, comes a natural tendency to glaze over content unintentionally and when that happens mistakes can easily be missed.
- Turn Manuscript Over to an Editor: Even though you have undertaken a thorough editing and proofreading exercise with your manuscript you still need to have professional editing carried out by an independent editor. Fresh, objective eyes and thought processes are important and sometimes errors are missed. Anticipate and plan for the engagement of a professional editor to ensure that you meet your publishing objectives with solid , positive reviews of your product and strong sales activity. Remember that the consumer will have a critical eye. They have made a purchase and their expectations are high. Missed errors leaves a negative impression which often manifests as negative reviews of the book which publishers are often hesitant if not refusing to remove for their own reasons. Leaving your readers with a positive overall experience will most often translate into future repeat purchases of your subsequent publications, not to mention invaluable reviews, sharing and referrals.