Common Manuscript Mistakes - podcast

After finishing my manuscripts and the next step they were then checked out for mistakes, the advise given to me was that there were just three areas of concern - one was grammar, two was spelling and three was being careful of the choice of words I chose. An example was that in two sentences I had used the word "lovely" three times. So what was lovely? Was the day lovely because it was sunny? Was the room lovely because of the choice of colors and so on. I decided to edit the books myself and I found that concentrating on those three areas really helped me make constructive changes and I was happy to edit my own work as only I knew what was really important to get across. I am very proud of the simple changes that changed the entire story presentation in each book and so glad I have an even deeper connection with my books. It will help me greatly in writing future books.

Great tips, Raines!

Thank you Lucy

I believe there's no substitute for having other people look at your manuscript. I've been a full-time professional editor, writer, and translator for 40 years, and even so, when it came to writing my memoir, I hired a developmental editor who worked with me every step of the way. In addition, I hired three proofreaders at the end. The developmental editor was indispensable and the proofreaders all helped me to see ways in which I could improve my book. I couldn't have done it without them.

Thanks, but what exactly does an editor looks at?