You’ve done it: you finished your manuscript. All of those coffee-fueled nights typing away at your laptop have finally paid off! You’re due for a major treat ‘yo self moment, but after that it’s back to work! Editing a manuscript can be just as intense and rewarding as the act of writing one, but it can be also be a little overwhelming at the start. Sparkpress has got it covered with these 5 ways to “cut the fat” from your manuscript. Think of it as a diet plan for your book that will make it leaner, meaner, and ready for publication!

 

  1. Read Your Manuscript Out Loud

Taking the time to read your manuscript out loud may seem tedious, but it’s actually a great tool for clarifying your writing! Reading the words at a reasonable pace will help you catch sneaky typos while hearing your own voice will allow you to catch any awkward phrasing, making for smoother writing.

 

  1. Cut Out Unnecessary Words

It’s definitely better to overwrite than to underwrite when crafting a manuscript, but once that red pen comes out, it’s time to slash! It may seem hard at first to cut out any unnecessary words from your body of work, but we guarantee that without extra wording in some spots, your story will be so much cleaner, and the words that you keep will have a much greater impact.

 

  1. Check for Repetition and Redundancy

While in the whirlwind of creating a super huge body of work, it can be easy to forget what was a written a few chapters, pages, or even paragraphs before! Checking for repetition in your writing will help you avoid confusion for potential readers and keep the story moving forward instead of constantly jumping back!

 

  1. Grammar Awareness

We all have our grammar quirks. Some of us are comma happy, others live for run-on sentences. Although these grammar tweaks can sometimes play into a writer’s personal style, a little too much of them can make the writing seem sloppy. Pick your moments when it comes to playing with grammar, and in other places try to stick with conventional rules. Doing so will make the stylistic choices really pop on the page!

 

  1. Show, Don’t Tell

This is one of the oldest adages for writing, and it is still true! A huge aspect of powerful writing is the effect that comes from showing the reader a feeling or emotion through detail rather than simply explaining it in one or two words. After all that cutting, this could be the time to beef up some spots of your novel with extra details in spots that may need a little TLC. Think of it as building lean muscle after cutting all that fat.

 

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