I first learned how to edit a book from a bestselling author with over 73 million copies sold. To say there was a learning curve is an understatement. He could see how little I knew and understood exactly how to help me reach my fullest potential.
This meant me buckling down to learn a lot of writing rules, embracing his red-ink comments, and committing to edit, then re-edit, my work over and over again.
But the result of learning how to edit a book and embracing that learning curve set me miles ahead of where I would be without him. Thanks to his tutelage, my manuscript received a full request from an acquisitions editor before I even finished the first draft, allowed me to place as finalist in many writing contests, and today, I edit for a publisher in Manhattan.
This whole journey started with simply deciding I would learn how to edit a book. There’s a truism that says writing the first draft is just telling yourself the story. The edits? That’s carving the story from all of your extra words. Editing is your moment to be Michelangelo.
Oh, and guess what? We’ve taught over 8,000 authors how to write, publish, and market their books over the last 10 years. Today, it’s time to take you through the steps for how to edit a book so it’s ready for publication.
How to edit a book: what’s covered
- How can I edit my own book?
- What are the 5 steps of editing?
- How much does it cost to edit a 50,000 Word book?
How can I edit my own book?
You can learn how to edit a book by following a list of editing tips to the best of your ability. Trust me, it takes time to learn how to self-edit. That’s okay! Every writer has to go through the learning process.
Once you learn how to edit a book, you will want to take it through a plethora of edits until you know it’s time to pass it on to a professional editor (more on how to know when you’re done self-editing in a bit).
Whether you self-publish or traditionally publish, you do need a book editor. They can spot things you miss simply because you’re too close to your own work. With this in mind, let’s get straight into how to edit a book!
1. Give your manuscript a rest
When learning how to edit a book, the first step is to stop. My writing mentor teaches the importance of taking a break, or letting your manuscript cool off, before you dive into plot structure and the other aspects of editing.
In fact, he said some authors literally put their paper copy in the freezer as a mental shift that shows them they’re taking a break! While you don’t need to go this far, it is crucial to step away for a period of time. Even a day or a few weeks can work wonders.
2. Read your book as if it’s your first time
Before you go in with Microsoft’s Track Changes or a red pen, it can be extremely helpful to read your story as if you’re seeing it for the first time. When doing this, put on your logic cap.
Asking the following questions can help you pinpoint overall issues:
- Why did my character respond X way?
- Did my timeline align with my plot?
- How do my subplots naturally evolve?
You can simply take note of issues where a character’s response seems forced for the sake of the plot or you needed it to be night but logically, it should still be day. When you go into edit, you can fix these. Soon, you’ll be a master at knowing how to edit a book and make it make sense.
3. Define the point of your book
What’s your book about? Why? No, really. I know you wrote it, but what is the point? Why did you do so? If you can pinpoint one or two key themes, you can draw out these themes in you storytelling. Learning how to edit a book that highlights its purpose can be hard, but is our job as writers.
It’s easy to finish a piece and not know the main point. We can become so bogged down with all the side plots and tangents that we forget what’s vital to the story.
What is the story really about if you trim all the fat? What is necessary to tell the story, and what isn’t? You want a sleek, streamlined story or book. Not a bloated one, that’s so full of side plots that it’s impossible to tell what the main one is. This is why we learn how to edit a book, after all!
To help, write a short synopsis of 500-2000 words. Write several synopses, with each one focusing on a different theme. This will give you an extremely clear idea of what’s important and what’s not to tell your story.
4. Focus on one or two writing rules
When I edit my books, I choose just a few writing rules to focus on per edit. This means I take my book through copious edits, but that’s for the best. I’d rather write a handful of captivating titles than loads of books that are mediocre.
I often start on the rules of show don’t tell and active versus passive voice. You can choose any rules you want, but these ones often make or break a story and play a big role in how to edit a book that engages your readers.
Don’t tell the audience about the terrible PTSD your character or a person is suffering from. Don’t fill the page with beautiful prose about how the character feels.
Show them how the character is affected. Let your audience experience the emotions through the character. Showing is always more powerful than telling, and powerful is what you want.
Ask yourself:
- Where am I telling the story through exposition or information dumping?
- Is passive voice dominating my writing?
- Is my protagonist proactive?
Bonus points if you caught the passive voice in bullet point number two. Learning how to edit a book? Start here. How would you change it? Here’s your answer: “Does passive voice dominate my writing?”
If you’re learning how to edit a book that’s nonfiction, here are some questions to help you identify your editing goals:
- Is this book clear and concise?
- Is it also entertaining and well-written?
- Does it solve a problem or fulfill the promised purpose (the promise in your subtitle)?
- Am I proud to put my name on the quality of this book?
If you’re learning how to edit a book that’s fiction, your editing goal questions may look different:
- Is my main character likable, sympathetic, or capable (or at least 2 of the 3)?
- Is my opening scene strong and captivating?
- Are my chapters full-scenes themselves?
- Are my beta readers confused by anything?
- Is my climax or plot-twist too predictable?
6. Focus on the characters or people
Whether you write fiction or nonfiction, learning how to edit a book means focusing on how your characters/people lead the story. If you’re writing self-help or memoir, use your own experiences to show others how to overcome. If you write fiction, make the characters feel well-rounded and like your readers could truly meet them in the street.
Regardless of your genre, ask, do my characters/people:
- Have relatable flaws?
- Have struggles they are working to overcome?
- Exhibit fears or weakness?
- Have dreams specific to their character?
- Have unique preferences and desires?
If a person or character doesn’t have a purpose, you need to give them one, remove them, or trim their part down so they’re not distracting from the overall focus. Your characters and people should all have a purpose, from major to minor. This is how you edit a book…taking out anything that doesn’t push the story forward.
Make sure every character serves their purpose, and has some form of character arc, however small. The book Rich Dad, Poor Dad is a great nonfiction example of character arc.
7. Read each chapter for plot
Just like your characters, every chapter needs a purpose that moves the main plot or teaching points forward. This is fundamental when learning how to edit a book.
Ask these questions when learning how to edit a book chapter by chapter:
- Does this chapter have a purpose?
- Does it move the plot or teaching point forward?
- Does it develop an important character or person?
- Can I continue the story without it?
If the chapter doesn’t do one of these things, either cut it or find a way to condense anything important into another chapter, it may not need to stand on its own. This can be tough, but is crucial because it impacts the pacing of your book…step 8.
8. Ruthlessly check for pacing
The pacing of the book is often the determining factor of if readers continue reading or close the book. Pacing in a book is simply how quickly or slowly the book progresses.
Different book genres do require different pacing, and you’ll find that if you’re learning how to edit a book that’s nonfiction, you may have to work a bit harder to keep that momentum going.
I once received feedback from an editor that my book was great, until it “fell apart with a saggy middle.” Oof. Not my favorite words to hear, but I took them to heart and hired an author/editor to help me learn how to edit a book that has good pace for its entirety.
Pacing does not mean every chapter needs to be fast (example: mystery) or slow (example: romance). My writing mentor likens pacing to a rollercoaster. You feel the tension of slowly creeping up to the summit, then the rush of action as you scream down the other side.
In my opinion, pacing is one of the most difficult parts of learning how to edit a book, but the more you practice, the better you’ll become.
Tip for pacing
Particularly for the middle of the book, ensure your pacing keeps the reader reading. If you can, print your book out in its entirety. Choose two colors of sticky notes, and place one color on each page that is a slow pace, and a second color on each page that is fast-paced.
Step back and look at your chapters next to each other. If you have too many slow-paced chapters next to each other, do some digging and figure out how you can add tension there. If you have several fast-paced chapters next to each other, your book will speed by, which can often cause information overload or confusion.
You control pacing on the large scale with plot and structure, and on the small scale with sentence and paragraph structure. Short punchy sentences speed the reader along, and long, complex sentences and paragraphs slow the reader down. In everything, balance is key.
9. Finesse each line
Line editing is one of my favorite parts of how to edit a book. I love it because I get to play with words like puzzle pieces, ensuring each word fits with the others in the exact way I want to best communicate the story.
For fiction, this is when I love to push myself to the limits with deep point of view, making sure every perspective character only notices what they would naturally, rather than forcing them to notice something to advance the plot.
You can also play with different turns of phrase, the five senses, and variations of sentence structure. This goes for both fiction and nonfiction.
Ask yourself this when line editing a book:
- Would this sentence be more clear if I rearranged it?
- Is this sentence necessary?
- Does it add anything?
- Is this paragraph clear?
- If not, how can it be more clear?
- Is it obvious who’s speaking here? How do I fix that?
- If I read this aloud does it sound weird?
These are the kinds of questions you need to be asking about each and every sentence and paragraph in your book. Make each word vital to your book and you’ll compel readers to turn pages until the very last one.
10. Remember that less is more
“Keep it simple, stuipd,” or KISS, is the old Navy saying and a good one to live by when you’re editing. Shorter and simpler is almost always better. If you can say it in fewer words, do it.
I’ve mentioned this before, but comparing the 1995 Pride and Prejudice film to the 2005 version is a standout of example of how less is more (although the 1995 is a classic for a reason!).
There are always exceptions to the rule. The important thing to note is why you’re breaking the rule. For example, if you have a character who is long-winded and this serves a purpose, writing dialogue that’s long-winded and wordy can likely stay.
11. Revisit your opener
Recently, I was a guest on a podcast to speak on the editing process and what makes a book great. We discussed the importance of book openings, particularly the first few paragraphs.
Agents and acquisitions editors can decide to reject a book just by reading the first lines and paragraphs. Sound brutal? They can pick up on a book’s pacing (mentioned above) and writing level (step 4) that quickly.
For self-published authors, readers need to be captivated from page one as well. While the rest of your book should be the same level as your first page, the first page often makes or breaks your sale. Write, edit, then rewrite!
Bonuses
“Give the reader credit.” I put this in quotes because it is a phrase my writing mentor uses when teaching students how to edit a book. You can apply this rule to many other writing rules, such as ones he calls “resist the urge to explain” or avoiding a “redundancy.”
A couple of examples:
- He walked through the open door (unless there’s an accident, your reader knows it’s open).
- The sun was shining and she walked out into the bright, sunny day (redundancy).
Also, watch for writing tics. Be on the lookout for your common writing tics, words or phrases you overuse. They’re almost always unnecessary and can rob your writing of power. For example, you may use “pulled” or “snatched” repeatedly and not notice. Keep an eye out and learn to recognize these words or phrases.
A quick hack for finding these:
- If you notice a repeated phrase a few times in a chapter, do a “Command + F” on Mac or “CNTRL + F” on PC and search the phrase
- If it’s an excessive number, you may want to take another edit to comb through your manuscript just for that phrase and replace it
What are the 5 steps of editing?
If the above seems a bit in depth for your first time, you can always start by following these five steps: big picture editing (step 2), characterization (step 6), plot (step 7), pacing (step 8), and line editing (step 9).
From here, you can then fill in the gaps with the other steps the editing process. Learning how to edit a book takes time, and it’s okay to start with a more streamlined process if you need to!
How much does it cost to edit a 50,000 Word book?
Once you self-edit your book, you’ll want to hire an editor to spot areas you’re blind to, and editing rates vary. When reaching out to editors, just remember that you often get what you pay for.
What can help lower your costs is learning how to self-edit via the steps above. This way, when you send your manuscript off to a book editor, they have less work to do. Additionally, you can make use of an AI book editor before sending your manuscript off, mentioned below!
How to edit a book: take your next step
How do you know when you’re done learning how to edit a book? Well, we’re always learning, but my writing mentor says we’re done self-editing when we’re no longer making the book better, just different. This is how you know it’s time to pass your manuscript off to a professional editor.
Remember, these are just guidelines. Every writer has a different editing process. If you want to print your book to edit it, okay! If you prefer to use Google Docs, great. If you start with line editing, that’s fine too!
It’s all about whatever works best for you and allows you to create real progress and change in your manuscript. What I’ve given you is a guide to get started. Take it, tweak it, make it your own, and go finish your book!
To help you, use our free resource below, and make use of our other blogs in this series. This is part 3 of our book writing series. Read part 4, how to make a book, here!
