From our Resource Library
How to Edit Your Own Writing
Discover how to edit a simple manuscript and explore helpful resources to support your writing journey with Kris Argall, managing editor of Bible Society Australia.
This is an Edited Transcript of Kris’s webinar.
Edited transcript
Why is editing important?
It reduces errors, it avoids confusion, it makes it easier for people to understand each other, it helps people to work well together, and it improves efficiency, and it saves time. Editing is one important part of clear communication, whether it comes to words on the page or on your e-reader or on a pamphlet or online. Editing helps because it helps us develop our ideas as we work through the words. It makes writing easier to understand. It catches all those mistakes we all worry about—for example spelling, grammar, facts that are wrong—and makes your work look professional.
How do you know if your text needs editing?
- Confusing sentences. The text is hard to understand. You must read it again to work out what it is saying.
- Spelling mistakes. There are typing mistakes or spelling errors.
- Grammatical errors. Sentences don’t follow the rules, so the meaning is unclear.
- Repetitive ideas. The same ideas are said too many times.
- Lack of focus. The text moves away from the subject or is unclear about the main point. There is no clear structure.
The different types of editing
Structural editing
(How the writing holds together)
In structural editing we work on the big picture by:
- changing sections or chapters if needed
- checking the flow and order of ideas
- making sure ideas are easy to follow
- matching the content to the purpose and audience
- checking that nothing important is missing.
It may include a little bit more detailed copy editing.
Copyediting
(Making sure the writing is clear and correct)
Copyediting focuses on the details by:
- checking spelling, punctuation and grammar
- improving sentences and paragraphs so they flow well
- correcting style, tone and format for consistency
- suggesting clearer word choices or sentence structures
- fact-checking information
- flagging possible copyright issues
- includes some light proofreading
Proofreading (The time to review)
Proofreading is the final check and involves:
- fixing mistakes (typos, spelling, grammar)
- checking references and footnotes
- checking the numbering of tables, figures and maps
- making sure page layout and formatting are consistent
- checking captions, headings and contents pages
One of the main things that you need when you’re editing really is your gut instinct—how you feel about something. We all may not be perfect, but I would encourage you to trust your instinct about the flow and the pace of what you’re writing.
Editor’s Toolkit
- Dictionaries and thesauruses:
- Free online: Merriam-Webster (US), Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries, Cambridge, Collins, Macquarie (Aus)
- Word/Google Docs built-in spellcheck often doubles as a dictionary
- Bible reference sites: Bible Gateway, Blue Letter Bible, Bible Hub, STEP Bible → all free and globally accessible
- Grammar checkers (free tier): Grammarly, LanguageTool
- AI tools (free tier): ChatGPT (free version), Google Translate, DeepL (limited free use)
- PerfectIt (subscription, Word add-in) → helps with the final proofreading
- ProWritingAid (subscription) → some may pay individually, but not universal
- Chicago Manual of Style Online (subscription) → less accessible; print copies are expensive outside the United States
- Logos/Accordance Bible software → excellent, but costly
AI as a resource
I’m finding AI to be incredibly helpful. I’m finding that it is freeing me up to do other tasks that are important that I haven’t had time to do.
Advantages
- Speeds up proofreading and grammar checks
- Suggests alternative words or sentences
- Helps with tone and clarity
- Good for summarizing or re-structuring text
- Useful for non-native English speakers
- Can assist with fact-checking (but not as the final authority).
Disadvantages
- Can make mistakes or invent information
- Doesn’t understand context or nuance like humans do
- May ignore style guides or specific rules
- Over-reliance can make writing generic and weaken your author voice
- Raises copyright, privacy and ethics concerns.
Things to keep in mind when using AI
If we use AI too much, our voice starts to disappear, and I would say that that is a loss. So you need to balance your use of AI with the need to keep the essence of what is you in your writing. Of course, that’s not as much of an issue for, say, technical writing for a law journal or in a science journal, but certainly for creative writing, I would say you need to be aware of that.
AI pops up with information; make sure that you follow the link and find out where it gets the information from. Make sure you’re not violating copyright or someone’s privacy or that there aren’t ethical concerns.
Style
Style is a set of rules that keep writing clear and consistent. Editors love consistency, and often you’ll hear them say consistency is key. When you’re writing and you have inconsistent spelling or you’ve spelled a person’s name different ways—anything that just seems to be out of place can make it more difficult for the reader to follow your writing style and your message. make it as easy as possible for the reader to read your material.
Style is a set of rules that keep writing clear and consistent that you follow as you write and as you edit your document. These rules cover:
- language, grammar and punctuation
- tone and formatting
- word choice, sentence structure and voice.
As you edit your document, write down the style decisions you make. This list becomes an important reference for you and anyone else working on the project. It is called a style sheet. Style is your friend. It makes editors happy, and it cuts down the amount of decisions that you have to make.
Sample Style Sheet
- alphabetical order
- decisions about what is formatted in italics
- what has capital letters
- what has lowercase letters
Style manuals
A style manual is a reference tool that reduces the number of editing and proofreading decisions by giving clear rules and guidelines. Some style manuals are highly specialized, especially if you are working in a particular field. Some publishers also have their own ‘in-house’ style manuals. Examples include:
- Chicago Manual of Style
- Christian Writers Manual of Style
- Bible Society Australia publications
If you are writing with a view to having your work published by a publishing house, they may have their own style manual that they give you and they will expect you to format your document with the rules that they’ve given you.
Editing your own writing
Getting test readers
The first thing to remember before you start editing your own writing is to try and get some people to read your manuscript or your material before you start editing it. These people are called test readers or beta readers.
They can spot mistakes or unclear parts in your writing that you might miss. It helps to get feedback from people you trust to be honest. You need to be prepared to accept criticism, but it will help get your writing into the best shape possible before you start editing.
Find someone who:
- represents your target readers
- knows how to give helpful feedback
- is interested in your subject or story
- Is a skilled critical reader who can analyze what you’ve written.
(The tricky thing can be asking too many people and getting a whole range of opinions about your work.)
Take a break before you edit
Take a break after you finish writing, before you start editing your own work. Even a short break is better than no break. A pause gives you a fresh perspective. It helps you spot errors and notice what’s missing. You can see more clearly where improvements are needed.
Use styles to keep your text simple
Keep the text simple. The more complex a document is, the slower Word becomes when making edits. This is especially noticeable as the number of edits increases. A good idea is to use two basic fonts: one for headings, one for the main text.
Before editing, remove any unnecessary formatting. The easiest way to do this is by using paragraph styles. Paragraph styles save time and keep everything consistent.
- Open your document and select the text you want to format.
- Go to the ‘Home’ tab and find the ‘Styles Pane’.
- Click a style (like ‘Heading 1’ or ‘Normal’) to apply it.
- To change a style, select the text you wish to modify and then click on a new style.
- Apply styles to other parts by selecting text and clicking the style again.
- You can also set your own styles.
Could you keep the edits or revisions to a minimum before finishing the first draft and then begin the editing process afterwards?
The ideal way to work would be to finish the entire manuscript and then do the structural edit. Depending on your style of writing, often a structural edit will be part of your writing. It may be hard to distinguish them. At Bible Society, when we accept a manuscript for publication, the structural editing has to have already happened and will do the copy editing and the proofreading. The structural editing is such a big job that that has to be done beforehand.
Often, the writing and the structural editing will happen at the same time, but it could be split into two processes. I’m the kind of writer where I just write stuff and then I have to put it together into the right order. I write in a very higgledy-piggledy fashion. So for me, the structural edit would come after the writing.
What have you found as you’re editing your own writing? What’s most challenging for you in that process?
The most challenging thing is having to get rid of things that I would like to keep but aren’t really that important. I think there’s an expression, “kill your darlings.” I don’t know whether it’s used outside Australia much, but it’s that sense in which you’ve nurtured and crafted what you feel is just a beautiful paragraph. And then you get to the stage where you realize it’s beautiful, but it actually doesn’t add anything to the book or to the article. And you can think it’s great. And sometimes the most heartbreaking thing is when an editor comes back and says, it just doesn’t mean anything to me. So, getting rid of text that you’ve toiled over and you love, but ultimately aren’t important.
Suppose you get a poorly done manuscript to what extent can you edit to avoid losing the author’s voice?
A couple of years ago in a very unusual situation, we had to edit a very, very bad manuscript and turn it into a book. One of the criticisms of the author was that we had got rid of his author’s voice. To make it work, we had to interfere with it so much that he had very little left of his voice. He ended up having another go at it, and the result was a book that neither the author nor the editors were particularly happy with.
As a freelance editor, I’ve had a couple of books that I had to work on that were not well written. One of the criticisms of the author was that we had got rid of his author’s voice. I made it clear there would be a big rewrite, and then we tried to bring some of her voice back in. It’s a very difficult situation and it doesn’t always end well.
In one instance, the writer wasn’t happy to have a ghostwriter and thought their work was great. We had to cancel the contract. It’s a painful position, especially if the writer doesn’t see the problem. Those that see the problem are great to work with because you can almost start from scratch and have a really good partnership.
Audience testing can bring weaknesses to light. I confess I have a thin skin and find it hard to accept criticism, but it’s valuable. If you can accept criticism and see it as a process to make your book better, it’s incredibly helpful. It’s a journey in humility.
How much of your work is fair to give to someone to read? If I find the document is too large, people put off reading it and get in getting back to me, should I just send a percentage of it?
It might depend on how well you know the person, how good a friend they are and how quickly they read. Personally, the better I know a person, the more likely I am to ask them to read the whole manuscript. But I think you can always just to have a chat with them and tell them what your plan and your dream is for the manuscript, and say, “Here’s the outline. How much would you be interested in reading?” Give them an opportunity to say how much they’d like to read or not.
Parting words for Christian writers
Words are so important. With everything that’s going on in the world and in our own corners of the world, we know the importance of speaking truth into situations. I think of psalms whose writer talks about not remaining silent about all the amazing things that God has done, about shouting it out to everyone who will hear how wondrous God is. I feel that that’s what we’re doing with writing and publishing. We may not be writing psalms that will end up in a Bible, but we are testifying to how good our Father is, and his amazing love and His compassion. So I just want to encourage you to keep doing what you’re doing. The whole publishing writing publishing process can be very long and very frustrating, but it’s totally worth it. What you’re putting into words is testifying to our amazing creator, and I just think that’s a wonderful
About Kris
With over eighteen years of experience in editing, Kris Argall works on a wide variety of publications-including Bibles, trade books, children’s books and indigenous language resources for Australia’s First Nations peoples. Kris originally trained as a zoologist and has a PhD in Science from Sydney University. Through a series of events that were a surprise to Kris but not to God, she found herself working as an editor for Acorn Press, an Australian non-profit Christian publishing company that became part of the Bible Society Australia Group in 2017.