Here are some essential tips on cleaning up your manuscript before you submit it to a professional editor or before you prepare your content for publication, from my first-hand experiences as an author and editor.
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1
Found two spellings for a word and both seem to be correct?
Fret not! Most likely, it’s a case of American vs British English, or regional spelling variations. Colour (UK) and color (US) are both correct, but if you’re using colour (UK) in one para, make sure to spell it realise (UK) and not realize (US) in the next.
The main point here is to choose one style of spelling (whether UK/US) as per your preference in the absence of any external guidelines from, say, a publisher, and STICK TO IT for the whole length of your write-up/document/book. Editors will thank you for consistent spellings and readers won’t be distracted by different versions.
If you think you’ve used different spelling styles in different instances, use Microsoft Word’s Find & Replace function to quickly find instances of inconsistent spelling and automatically apply consistent spelling!
You can also note down your spelling and other preferences, such as those relating to capitalization/punctuation, which will later help your editor draw up a style sheet (a guide document containing all specific preferences) and check for any leftover inconsistencies.
2
How to check if your dialogues flow naturally…
Read your dialogues aloud and see if the tone you intended for it in your mind remains the same when spoken.
If something sounds off, you probably need to edit it!
A helpful tip if you can’t think of another way to frame it: Describe your intended tone and ask an AI chatbot to reframe it for you.
Or, simply highlight the parts that you would like reframed when you send the file to your editor.
3
Wondering if your writing is easily understandable?
Check your overall readability score using websites like the Dale-Chall Readability Calculator. Then, deploy AI to make those parts of your writing easier to digest for your target readers!
If you’d rather not deal with AI, best get a professional editor to do it for you. Check with editors if they offer this service. (Comment if you need references.)
And if you just need feedback from a human to improve your writing, try a beta reader or a developmental editor.
4
Ensure each page of your book has a page number!
Before hitting publish on the self-publishing platform dashboard for your self-formatted book, or before giving your typeset manuscript to an on-demand printer (businesses that print a book copy or copies as per the requirements of a specific, generally small, order), check that every page of your book has page numbers.
Also, check whether the Contents page mentions the correct page number for each chapter/segment of your text (and any other such instances of cross-referencing in your book).
This might seem like a trivial thing, but it’s important, trust me. I had been there and didn’t do that, which meant the first edition of my book had no page numbers at all 😛
5
Use the serial or Oxford comma, and use it consistently!
Adding a comma before ‘and’ and ‘or’ in a list of three items or more generally helps to keep things clear for your readers.
If you do decide to use this comma (called the Oxford or serial comma), make sure to note this preference in a separate document (called a style sheet) and ensure that the comma appears before every ‘and’/’or’ in the case of such a list.
6
Avoid fancy words and expressions where not necessary
Choose easier words over new, difficult, archaic, or long words. Your audience is interested in understanding what you have to say; if they wanted to learn new words, they would choose to read a dictionary instead 😛 (No kidding; people actually read dictionaries for fun! Google Mina Loy.)
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If you can think of any more or if you just want to share your thoughts on these, feel free to drop a comment below. I’d love to read them! 🙂
ABOUT THE GREEN PENCIL
Hey there! I’m Shruti, a professional freelance copy editor and proofreader from Lucknow, India. I’m also the author of two self-published children’s mystery books.
The Green Pencil is my solo venture where I offer editorial services to help fiction as well as non-fiction authors (from India and other corners of the globe) elevate their writing from final draft to delivery-ready.
I particularly enjoy working on children’s fiction, adventure, and mystery books.
Like all editors, I genuinely want to see your book out there in all its glory, unblemished by errors of any kind; and I do not intend for an exorbitant fee that you can’t afford to come in the way of that!
I offer a free sample edit of up to 1000 words, so you, the writer, and I, your prospective editor, can both see if we’re a good fit for each other. If we are, I’ll offer you a customized cost estimate (quote) for your project.
Reach out to me today to get my custom quote for your book! 🙂
Cover image by Antoni Shkraba Studio: https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-in-white-blazer-using-macbook-pro-on-brown-wooden-table-5244025/
THE GREEN PENCIL 
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