How to Self Edit Your Book Using Your E-Reader
Today’s guest post comes from Matthew Turner, who is the author of the new book Beyond Parallel (which sounds great! I love the premise of the Sliding Doors type love story).
The 30 Day Books blog usually focuses on marketing and promotions tips, but I feel very, very strongly about having a well-edited book way as the groundwork of your promotions. Self-editing doesn’t replace editing by a professional, but it is important to do your fair share of self-editing to make sure you’re happy with your final product.
Matthew is going to walk us through how he edited Beyond Parallel with his Kindle to save his sanity (we all need a break from the computer!) Take it away Matt!
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I love the writing process, but would you like to know what I hate? Self-Editing!
Some writers love it, but I’m not one of them. I find it difficult to concentrate on the words and not get lost in the story. Seriously, I’d make the world’s worst editor!
However, Self-Editing is 100% needed for every writer. I’m not saying you don’t need an Editor (you do), or BETA Readers (you do), or proofreaders and critique partners (you do), but self-editing is something no writer can escape.
Personally I found two rounds of self-editing:
- Pre Editor: to make sure it’s not utter awful
- Post Everything: to make sure you’re 100% happy before publishing
This post is for the latter part of self-editing; the final effort before you release it to the big wide world.
Use Your Kindle…
or Nook or iPad or any other E-Reader you may have lying around.
The point here is to get away from the computer screen and see your book in a new light. You can, of course, do this by printing off your manuscript. However, that’s expensive and kills trees, so this is the perfect time to use your Christmas Kindle.
By the time your Proofreader and BETA Readers have finished, you will no doubt have read your book fifty-times. The thought of reading it again is tortuous, but you must. To be a self-published author means more than publishing by yourself. It means you take responsibility for everything, and you’ll be damned if you let that baby of yours free in the world without it being ready.
I was sceptical, but a few people suggested I read Beyond Parallel on my iPad before publishing. I reluctantly did, and guess what… I discovered sooooooooo much!
- Numerous typos
- Grammatical errors seemed to scream out
- Repetitive words were practically in bold
- Formatting issues
- Sections that were boring/dragged the story along
These issues remained hidden for months. I couldn’t believe it.
Trust me, it’s a life saver. The thought that I nearly released Beyond Parallel without reading on my Kindle App first… well, it isn’t worth thinking about. It’s a no-brainer folks.
This is how you do it:
1: Prepare Your File
There are several ways to create your manuscript. Whatever you use, don’t worry, simply create a file that will upload to your Kindle, Nook, iPad, etc.
Make it as complete as you can though. I found a lot of formatting errors, and I thought I’d done a good job in the first place. If you simply upload a draft, you may have a large task on your hands.
2: Use Your E-Reader
When I say use it, I mean use it. Most versions allow you to make notes, highlights, and a number of other things to keep you on top. You’d be amazed how quickly you can make notes and read, which if your anything like me, is key.
I need to keep the momentum going!
I also suggest keeping a notebook close by. Use the E-Reader as much as you can, but sometimes you need to expand on your thoughts. You’ll hopefully only find minor issues at this point, but be prepared for anything.
3: Make Changes
You’re now at the final hurdle. You’ve made your notes and it’s time to add them to your manuscript. This is when you need to become a perfectionist (unless you’re hiring someone else to format it, but I still suggest making it as perfect as possible).
This is last chance saloon. Go through your Kindle page by page and make the final round of edits. After this, it’s time to let it fly.
Self-Editing – Conquered!
People always talk about the need to hire a freelance editing professional (I totally agree), but rarely discuss the process of Self-Editing. This is the one thing all writers must become competent at. Self–Editing Beyond Parallel has taught me a great deal!
It’s a torid time for some (aka, me), but reading via your Kindle helps. It’s not only effective, but environmentally friendly, which let’s face it, is very important.
Keep yourself sane and help save the whales. Like I tell you, it’s a no brainer :)
How about you?
I’d love to hear your editing stories. How do you edit your work of art?
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner is a writer from Yorkshire, England. His debut novel, Beyond Parallel is OUT NOW and it’s the perfect time to download. Until midnight tonight (10th January) you don’t only get the book, but over $50 of extras.
In the same mould as Sliding Doors, Beyond Parallel flips between two parallel tales. Grab yourself a copy and be part of a true coming-of-age story that everyone can relate to.
Connect with Matt here…
http://www.facebook.com/matthewturner.writer
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Beyond-Parallel/350724605021823
Caution advised with this power … Amazon reveals buyer’s highlighting like “9 highlighted this sentence” and a recent book I read had only the misspelling and bad grammar features highlighted. So work your editing on a file you load off your pc, not something customers are reading.
This is a very good point, yes. You should definitely do any edits you make via a copy directly placed onto your kindle. Not one downloaded from amazon.
Good point J S :)
Matt, I want to jump in here and say I’ve been editing my latest book via Kindle – and it’s a great method! So much nicer than editing on the computer. I’m actually enjoying it… a strange concept for me! Thanks so much for the tip.
Yep thanks JS for reminding us to do it on non-public copies. I like to use the ‘Send to Kindle’ app on my Mac to send all my Word files to my Kindle.
Matt, my manuscript designer always sends a doc to my Kindle to review before it goes online. And you’re right – those last few typos no one caught blare off the screen. But I don’t know how to make notes on my Kindle Fire and send them back to her. (I’ve just been making side notes and returning those in an email). Can you take us step-by-step through the process?
It’s amazing what a change of scenery can do, isn’t it?
Hi Becca, I don’t have first hand experience with the kindle Fire (I use the kindle App on my iPad), but I believe they are similar. This page shows how to make the notes >>>http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=hp_201009460_bookmarks?nodeId=201009460#bookmarks
Now, as for sharing these changes, it isn’t something I’ve tried, but I imagine if you drag the book file from your Kindle Fire (when it’s connected to the computer) and email this to your designer the changes ‘should’ carry on through. Like I say though, I’ve not tried this. I’m really intrigued as to whether it works though. What a good question :)
Another thing you could do is create a’dummy’ Kindle account that you and your designer both have access to. Because the various Kindle Apps sync with each other, any changes you make on your Kindle Fire will show up on your designers Desktop Kindle App automatically.
Does all this make sense?
Having my novel on my Kindle (Gen 1) is like seeing it published. It gives me that extra kick in the backside it takes to get it done. As you say in your article, it’s hard to read your novel without getting caught up in the story, missing all those typos etc. Adding notes is very easy and does not interrupt the flow of reading too much. Later I go through, note by note and fix the original files on my computer. And yes, it saves a lot of paper and toner!