What Are Common Mistakes to Avoid in Editing a Story

Whether you are an experienced proofreader or new to the editing field, you must be aware of the significance of editing a manuscript comprehensively. Editing and refining the book is an essential part of the writing process. US based book writing services have an experienced and proficient team of editors who thoroughly edit a manuscript. While editing a book of any genre, a fiction, novel, memoir, or self-help book,  they get involved with different editing tasks. Developmental or line editing of the book implies editors identifying grammatical and punctuation errors,  fixing typos, and refining word choice. Often the paragraphs lack coherence and flow, which makes the story monotonous. The editors analyze each chapter and section to build transition in the story. It requires in-depth editing. They carefully edit the paragraphs and chapters. Focusing on maintaining the flow, they ensure that each word and sentence interacts with the other. They move paragraphs and chapters within the sections to build the flow of the story. Consequently,  they refine the structure of your book to make it eye-catching for the audience.

A well-edited book attracts an audience and publishers in a competitive market. Therefore, editors play a significant part in creating a  magnificent narrative, using impressive vocabulary that keeps readers engrossed in the story. It signifies that editing and proofreading a book is a complex procedure. Though the editorial team cautiously edits the manuscript and focuses on different aspects of editing, sometimes, they miss editing the essential elements related to building flow and coherence of ideas in the plot. They also overlook minor grammatical errors and the construction of sentences. For inexperienced editors, book editing seems challenging, as many need help figuring out where to begin the book's editing.

There are effective methods that help editors to work with focus and help them avoid making common mistakes when editing a lengthy book. Let's look at these approaches!

How can Editors Avoid Making Common Editing Errors?

·         Avoid over-editing of details in the manuscript.

Book writers hired to create novels and fiction books overuse words, phrases, and adverbs or write detailed descriptions of characters or events. The editors have to analyze the content in-depth to remove irrelevant details. For instance, if editors find inappropriate paragraphs at the beginning of the book. They might think of rephrasing those sentences. But as they proceed with editing, they find more confusing sentences that make content monotonous. It will not be helpful if they have made changes in the beginning as they have to work all over again. They have to rephrase and summarize paragraphs. Therefore, it implies the editors refrain from editing each word or sentence in the section at the initial stage.

Moreover, focus on editing one or two areas at a time. It could be the storyline or the scenes. To avoid editing loopholes, the editors must cautiously read the text. As they give more time to reread the paragraphs or entire chapters, it will help them refine the chapter's language and tone. Since refining the draft is a detailed process, it takes time and effort for the editors to make your work elegant and impressive.

·         Shape the story focus

When professional book writers begin writing, they make a rough draft that needs coherence and transition. The story may not have a focus theme as it is composed in bits and pieces. It might make editing difficult. The foremost task of the editors is to work on those ideas to create the story's main theme. It implies the editors reread the story and combine all the details to identify what the story is about and the purpose of crafting the story. Once the editors have thoroughly gone through the chapters, they will know where the story is heading and what scenes are necessary or unimportant to be removed. What is the significant role of the characters,  the settings, and the plot of the story?

 If you are working on a lengthy book, you might come across multiple themes. In contrast, shorter books involve a central theme. Every element in a short story, including the plot, scenes, and characters, moves the story forward. Therefore, the editors should know the purpose of each scene. It will help them to refine the dialogues and sequence of ongoing events in the story.

·         Refine  the tone and voice of your manuscript

While analyzing the big-picture issues in the book, the editors know that the story is narrated from different angles. It could be difficult to edit as the author needs to explore the story from multiple perspectives. To enrich the writing style, the editors should narrate the story from the author's point of view. For instance, if the story is written in the first person, the editors must avoid changing the voice from the first person to the third person. If editors want to quote the other characters’ voices,  they should use italics or quotation marks. It will help readers to identify the narrator's voice. To make the story understandable, the editors should embrace the author's voice throughout the story. Consequently, switching from first person to third will confuse writing; the audience will lose focus and cannot follow the story. Hence, maintaining the voice of the book will engage readers.

·         Developing clarity in  the story

The clarity in writing signifies when the readers have a clear idea of the story and understand the author's perspective about the plot and the story. Making an intriguing plot implies the editors reviewing the chapters, sections, and subsections. It will help to identify the missing elements in the storyline. While editing, they rearrange the sections and paragraphs to strengthen the plot structure.

If the plot remains ambiguous, the readers will not get enough clarification about the sequence of events that shape the story. Therefore, giving a proper shape to the chapters, sections, and subsections clarifies the storyline.

·         Knowledge of elements of fiction

Whether you are editing a novel or a dramatic fiction book, you should know the essential elements of a story. For instance, you should know how to create the setting and plot in the story. How characters perform different roles and how various characters move the story. Moreover, learning about the story's conflict and climax will help create a stunning novel. Unskilled editors who are unfamiliar with fiction and novel editing might not come up with comprehensive book editing. They make ridiculous errors in editing that diminishes the quality of the book.

·         Provide error-free documents for publication

While reviewing the draft before publishing, the copy editors review the entire book and fill in the gaps that are missed earlier. It includes fixing grammar and punctuation errors and run-on sentences and improving the language and syntax of the chapters. They eliminate extra jargon, phrases, and adverbs to clarify the plot. They review each chapter to ensure flow and consistency in sections of the book.

·         Hire professional editorial services

 The authors can avail comprehensive editing and smooth publishing of the book through the assistance of professional ghostwriting service. They have a professional team of editors and proofreaders who takes a final review before the book goes to print. The editors review the book from the first page to the last and let the authors know their draft's grammatical and structural flaws. The proofreaders fix formatting issues such as page numbering, refining headings, table placement, and inserting page breaks. Having professional editing expertise help authors know what type of editing the book needs. Thus, perfectly edited and printed books have high value in the global market.

To Recapitulate  

Whether experienced or unskilled, you must know the essential elements of story writing. It will help them to refine the manuscript. While editing, the editors work with focus and an open mind to develop transparent and accurate editing. A line editor performs a line-by-line review of your manuscript, fixing grammatical errors, and building flow and coherence in the book. Once grammatical and structural issues are fixed, the book gets ready for publishing. It gives a great feeling to you when you see your well-edited and organized book gets printed and published on online platforms and distributed among retailers.