What is self-editing? In this comprehensive post by a professional editor, self-editing is explained and you will learn how to edit your own book, but also why it isn't a replacement for professional editing

Self-Editing Explained

Updated by David Gaughran 3 April 2021. Writing • 104 Comments.

Self-editing is the process an author goes through before they send their work to a professional editor; it is not a replacement for editing by a qualified, experienced, professional editor. There is only so much work an editor can do to improve your manuscript in the allotted time, and self-editing enables authors to remove the more obvious errors so that a professional editor can really go to work on deeper issues.

If you want your work to really shine, you must make it as good as you possible can before you hand it over to a professional editor.

And it’s a professional editor’s perspective that I think you will find most useful on this topic, so I have invited along Karin Cox to run through some of the ways that authors can self-edit their work and get it in better shape before they send it off to be copy edited. Read More…