Ten Steps for Pre-Editing

A lot of apprentice writers lavish most of their work, understandably, on character, plot, narrative, dialogue, and description. They often forget that to an editor, their manuscript is not an epoch-making breakthrough and the first great novel of the new century. To an editor, a manuscript is work.

Too many of us make more work for our editors than we should. It's not just that we don't follow the format guidelines every publisher sets out on its Website; we don't even follow basic English usage. In a very few cases this is tolerable; the writer's storytelling is so good that it's worth cleaning up the spelling and punctuation. Isaac Asimov, a famously fast and prolific writer in the Typewriter Age, single-spaced his manuscripts with no margins because he saved time by not inserting a fresh sheet of paper as often. Jack Kerouac used a roll of teletype paper so he wouldn't have to change sheets at all.

Long-suffering editors will deal with these foibles when the outcome is a sure success. But if you're a brand-new author, your editor may simply decide you're not worth the effort. Nothing personal, but the time spent cleaning up your spelling probably won't bring a nickel into the house, since first novels are notorious money-losers.

One of my editors told me that his house had a hugely successful but only semi-literate author, whose manuscripts had to be exhaustively (and exhaustingly) cleaned up. He also told me that Canadian authors' manuscripts tended to be welcome in New York publishing houses because we're more literate than our American cousins. Not better writers, necessarily—just better spellers and punctuators.

Having completed a weekend of correcting Canadian students' spelling and punctuation, I'm not sure I agree. If true, the US schools are in worse shape than I'd imagined.

So I always tell aspiring writers to present a manuscript that need an absolute minimum of copy-editing. That will free the editor from inserting commas and semicolons, and enable her to look at the overall shape and structure of your novel. What does that mean?

1. A double-spaced, laser-printed manuscript with inch-wide margins all around, numbered in the upper right-hand corner. Don't bother with a header containing your name and the title unless the publisher specifically asks for it.

2. A serif font, 12 or 14 point. Sans serif fonts are hard to read in long text, and boldface fonts are even worse. Long passages in italics are also unpopular (some publishers insist on ordinary roman text underlined to indicate italics, just like the old typewriter days).

3. Paragraphs with first lines indented half an inch from the left-hand margin, and a ragged right margin. That ensures easier reading, since a right-justified margin means extra-wide spaces between some words. The space between paragraphs is just one double-space, not two. Ideally, no paragraphs split between pages.

4. Correct spelling for the intended market. So if you're submitting to a London or Toronto house, your hero swims across the harbour as a labour of love. In New York, it's harbor and labor. Correct spelling, by the way, will not result from your spellchecker. Spellchecker codes are written by Satan's own software engineers. You will have to check dictionaries. You will also be wise to set up a usage list, ensuring consistency in spelling of proper names or special terms. Your editor will create such a list too, but you can save her a lot of work by doing it first.

5. Correct punctuation, especially in dialogue. If you write:
"Darling I love you". She said.

...your editor will have to repunctuate it as

"Darling, I love you," she said.

...while snarling, "Idiot! I hate you!" under her breath.

6. Correct paragraphing, again a common dialogue problem: Every time you quote a different speaker, you need a new paragraph:

"Hi, Bill."

"Hi, Tom," said Bill.

"May I ask you a question?" asked Tom.

"Fire away!" Bill replied.

(By the way: your dialogue should make it so clear who's speaking that you rarely need to add "asked Tom" or "Bill replied.")

7. Correct grammar means paying attention to all those boring rules about subject-verb agreements, run-on sentences, and dangling modifiers. This is basic craft, and if you're serious about writing it ought to be easy enough. You may even be able to find a course in copy-editing and proofreading that will pay for itself many times over. If terms like "subordinate clause" and "noun phrase" refuse to become understandable, consider hiring a freelance editor to go through the manuscript for you. This won't solve your plot and character problems, but it will make those problems easier to deal with.

8. Chances are your publisher will also expect an electronic version of your manuscript, and this can pose problems too. Your ms. should be in the publisher's preferred word processor (usually Word, but not always), and readable on the publisher's computer. So if you use a Mac and your publisher is PC, you'll have to save a version in a PC-readable format. The publisher's Website will probably tell you exactly what kind of electronic ms. they want.

9. Before you print off the finished ms., print off a copy for yourself. Let it get stone cold. After a week or two, go through it as your editor will, with pen in hand. You'll find all kinds of typos, awkward repetitions, and similar blemishes. This is the time to catch them, but it's not the time to revise the whole damn story! At this point you are the world's worst judge of your own stuff. If your editor sees problems, she'll give you good advice on how to solve them. After all, she's seen them in dozen of other manuscripts.

10. Now print out your manuscript, making sure it meets your publisher's guidelines. Put it in an envelope and send it off to its first real reader, your editor. You've done what you could to make her job easier, and she'll appreciate it. At this point, you and your novel need all the friends you can get, and a clean, professional-looking ms. will make your editor a very good friend indeed.

Comments

[glo]

Great information. I used to write my stories as if they were the completed manuscript; double spaces, indented paragraph, and wide margins. I felt it was easier than having to change the format after the story was written and it made it easier for me to edit. Now, I've gotten lazy with all the writing for the web. Thanks for the reminder.

I really want to address one rule you referenced about run-on sentences and dangling modifiers. I have noticed a trend emerging in the past 5 years or so. It appears that these two writing no-no's are becoming more accepted by the publishing industry (in the US). Maybe the publishers have some kind of criteria they follow when allowing run-on sentences and dangling modifiers to infiltrate an otherwise well written novel. I'm not sure what that criteria might be. I realize that some rule breakers can actually add to a story but I've read too many novels with run-on sentences laced throughout the text that they became hard for me to read. One I can think of is "White Oleanders", an Oprah book pick a few years ago. It seemed that there wasn't a page that didn't have a run-on sentence and/or dangling modifier. While I found the writing style distracting, other didn't. Perhaps because they were not reading with a writers eye. Heck, no one I talked with noticed the run-on sentences until I pointed them out.

I'm just wondering if anyone else has noticed a trend toward the acceptance of these writing rule breakers?

[angel]

Excellent post and very useful information! A question about formatting. When you've written a line of dialogue, of course indented, how do you begin the next line if it involves a different charachter?
For instance:
"What did she say?" asked Douglass.
Fran winced. She didn't know how to answer. She faced the mirror and proceeded to powder her nose.

Should "Fran" be indented?
I've searched my manuscript format book but can't find an answer.

Thanks again for a great post,
ANGEL

[glo]

Yes, Fran should be indented.

[Teresa]

Man, I wish I had this post last week before I embarassed myself with my proofreader before I submitted my essay. I'm glad she caught my irrational use (and non-use) of commas, but it shows how much I still have to learn. I'll look out for those proofreading classes that you suggest.

As for Glo's comment above: Read "How Stella Got Her Groove Back" by Terry McMillan if you want to see what "real" run-on sentences are. ;-) Yes, I would agree--these odd quirks in writing are in style now.

[Crawford Kilian]

Sorry I didn't get this item posted when you needed it, Teresa. But don't feel lonely. I'm reading a book on the present US-Iraq crisis by a senior Newsweek editor...and even he uses "lay" when he means "lie"!

To think I've just spent 15 weeks of my dwindling life expectancy trying to explain the difference to my legal admin assistant students...well, the ones who flunked can always get jobs in the media.

[angel]

thanks, glo. and yes, i'm trying to type my manuscript the right way from the beginning...such a time saver as you say.

thanks again,
angel

[Zarina N Docken]

But Crof, I don't want to get a job in the media. I better review my notes.

[Jerry Race]

hi there,

This article was most informative. I've been a member of an online writing workshop for the past two years. The workshop has many fiction and non-fiction classes. It also has message boards in those classes to post scenes of our story and novels. Everyone helps the other in giving feedback on edting grammar and punction. Since I graduated highschool in 1964 it had been awhile for my taking any grammar classes. Btw, this workshop includes a grammar class that I took and it was most helpfull. In case you are curious that workshop is known as Writers Villae University. Thanks again for posting this article.

Jerry Race

[David Irwin]

Thanks for the good essay. These little details are very important, it seems to me. I have only published a few newspaper and magazine personality profiles, but I always try to get things cleaned up as much as possible, for I have always heard that editors appreciate and remember that.

I have a bunch of usage guides and grammar books, but the most helpful ones to me have been Look It Up by Rudolf Flesch, The Elements Of Style by E.B. White, and Essentials Of English by Hopper, Gale, Foote, and Griffith. The latter is in its fourth edition and is published by Barron's, the people that do all the SAT review books, etc. I find that it is methodical and clear.

I also love the Merriam Webster English Usage, which has an enormous data base of examples. And, though I know purists frown upon it, I am very fond of the new Burchfield Fowler's Modern English Usage. It is strong on the international usages and points out the distinctions.

That said, I'm still very insecure about grammar and punctuation. I came late to writing, being a musician and techer by profession thus far. I intend to become more secure and confident in this area.

Again thanks for the blog, and for the nice essay.