The Writing Process

Edit

Once you are satisfied with the content and organization of your manuscript, concentrate on making sure your sentences and words communicate your ideas effectively. Try to predict how audiences might misinterpret individual sentences, and clarify any ambiguities. Also try to pay attention to your writing style by varying sentence lengths and structures to hold your readers’ attention.

Editing tips:

• Read your manuscript out loud. Hearing your own words can help reveal repetitive words and structures.
• Review the headings for your subsections. If they could apply to any manuscript or any topic, consider rewording them so they are specific to your book or article.
• Pay special attention to the first line of every paragraph. Replace generic transitions with language specific to your topic.
• Identify areas where too many sentences become too similar in length and structure. Combine or de-combine sentences as necessary, and vary the opening words of sentences.
• Make sure your language is as precise and specific as possible. Especially evaluate verbs, replacing common passive or helping verbs (such as is, are, has, have, get) with more active and specific verbs.