Self-editing tip: How to read your own work more effectively

Ever struggle to get distance you need to effectively read and critique your own work?

Like Hemingway, I believe that rewriting is the key to producing good writing. But many writers despise and dread self-editing! In this blog series, I’ll be sharing tips to make the revision process more enjoyable and productive.

During revision, it’s not the act of reading itself that is difficult. The challenge is stepping away from your own writing so you can see the work as it is. Our vision can fail us. As writers, we live so closely with the ideas in our work that we often see on the screen what we meant to say rather than what actually appears on the page.

And then there are those writing Feelings with a capital F. As creatives, we all have them! Some days we feel grandiose (and so have no need of an editor, who will just dampen our brilliance, thank you very much); other days we feel completely inadequate (so why even bother with another pass on this piece of garbage?).

The reality of what you produce in an early draft is probably somewhere in between. This post will guide you toward a more neutral emotional space so you can revise more productively.

My favorite hack for getting the distance I need to catch errors and feel whether my writing resonates as it should is to change the medium where I view my work. I like to send my work in progress to my e-reader. For more about how to do this, check out my previous post, Revision mindset hack: Use your e-reader.

Shift from editor to reader

For this process, you are going to take off your writer’s cap for a bit and interact with your work from the point of view of a reader. Hopefully, this will make self-editing more relaxing for you! We have a much warmer relationship with the practice of reading than we do with the act of editing. And with a portable e-reader, you can edit anywhere you feel comfortable.

Going in with a pen and looking for what’s wrong activates the judgmental part of our brains, and it’s a quick jump from there to second guessing and self-doubt. “Is this good enough? Why do I bother?” It’s no wonder that many writers dread this step!

Instead of seeking out mistakes, try concentrating on sound and feeling. Let yourself receive the music of your words and notice what emotions they bring up in you.

Do a mini developmental edit

For this first step, you’ll need your e-reader uploaded with the document you want to edit, a notebook, and your favorite pen. To start, you’re just going to read your piece through silently. Easy, right?

As you read, look for images or words that move you. In the e-reader, you can highlight a word or phrase that stirs feelings or bookmark a page–things you might do with a beloved book that you own. If you feel the urge to delete anything, jot it down in your notebook and then return to the flow of reading.

If ideas for changes occur to you, write them down in your notebook as well. Don’t write anything in the comments section of your e-reader.

When you get to the end of the draft, take a moment to reflect on what emotions the piece evoked in you as a reader. Set a timer for 4 minutes and write them down. Did you feel what you as the writer are hoping your audience will experience from this particular scene or chapter? Note that as well.

Look at that! You’ve just done a miniature developmental self-edit.

Let it marinate

Congrats! That is enough editing work for one day. Put your e-reader away in a special place, wherever you keep the books you love. If more impressions or ideas for changes come to you throughout the day, write them down. Tomorrow, when you are ready, you can bring your notes to the computer for traditional revision.

Copyedit your own work: The power of reading aloud

You can repeat this process for self-edits at the sentence level. This step is about the sound, shape, and rhythm of your lines. As before, you’ll send your revised draft to your e-reader. But instead of working silently, you’re going to read your piece to yourself out loud.

You’re going to hear the words come back to you–you will be both reader and listener. This is one of the surest ways to notice things at the level of sentence structure and word choice that could use some massaging.

As you read, note anything that jars. Write down any spot where something sounds off to your ear, any words or phrases that leave you tongue twisted.

Again, you can highlight or bookmark in the e-book, but resist the urge to write comments in there. Handwrite your impressions in your notebook.

Et voilà. You have just done a miniature line edit and copyedit while leaving your draft on the e-reader intact.

This time, feel free to move immediately to your computer to make revisions while your impressions are fresh.