Five tips to polish your manuscript for a tidier draft

The greatest books have definitely benefited from long rounds of editing and polishing before finally making it to the bookshelves. The editing stage is a crucial part of publishing a book, helping to ensure the final product is free of typos and other forms of error.

You, too, can improve your manuscript starting with the following tips for making a tidier draft.

Read your work multiple times over

It pays to read your draft over and over again, as in other writing endeavors. Doing so will effectively help spot typos and grammatical mistakes.

Be familiar with your writing habits

Tapping the help of a professional editor is important for polishing a manuscript. It also helps you to recognize your inner voice, thus your writing habits. Working with an editor helps you gain consciousness of details in your writing that otherwise prevents you from honing your skills.

Split your proofreading process

Divide your editing process into blocks of time in order to handle every page of your manuscript with more focus and attentiveness. This will also help you manage stressful moments when you need to juggle multiple tasks and submissions.

Refer to style guides

Proofreading can be a bit difficult if you are not familiar with some details like the rules of capitalization or punctuation. Make it a habit to use style guides such as the Chicago Manual of Style as your reference when you stumble upon these issues to make your draft consistent.

Take it slow

Hurrying up with your editing process is never helpful. On the other hand, it undermines your manuscript in the long run. Take your time when proofreading your draft.