structural editing checklist

One essential element of the eBook conversion process is the ability to identify the start and end of chapters. When you have completed the first draft of your manuscript, set it aside for a week or two or clear your mind. We recommend that all writers have a go at doing their own structural edit before they get any beta readers or professional editors involved. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. (LogOut/ Instead of going right into editing as soon as youre finished writingwhich you should only do in situations where you have no other choicegive it some time and let it breathe. In this post we will focus on freelance developmental editing and developmental self-editing (for information on developmental editing at a publishing house, see the previous post in this series, Editing Levels Overview.). Review the checklist above, and then read through the manuscript, making notes on aspects you need to improve before carrying on with further self-editing. Stylistic EditingChecklist, Editing Levels 3: Substantive or Structural Editing Checklist Norma J. Hill Reblogged by Faye Arcand Faye E. Arcand, Conversations, Reflections, and Meditations. As you go through your manuscript again, with this checklist, try to fulfill as many of these requirements as you can. The editor will usually provide you with a short memo that summarizes their key points, areas of concern, and suggestions for your book. They will identify and locate the position of your key scenes within your story to create a story arc. Put it on your Kindle or tablet, print it out on paper and read it how you would read any other book curled up in your armchair, outside in the sun whatever gets you in a readers mindset. Does every scene build upon the last, making a logical sequence of events? Is there appropriate pacing across the manuscript as a whole (e.g., does the action slowly rise, amount to a peak, then quickly relax into the ending)? Very detailed and extremely helpful for both writers and editors. This list contains a number of highly practical suggestions that you can apply to your work to ensure the best possible outcome. Assessment B1 Assess the overall organization and content of the material to determine its suitability for the intended audience, medium . These are the foundations of a structural edit. They will also consider readability, plot, and structure. During a professional edit, editors focus on the structure of three primary sections of your manuscript. If youre an author looking to self-publish, hiring a professional is a must in our eyes, particularly at this critical point in the process. This determines if the key scenes are within the ideal story arc framework. Do I use a unique voice throughout my story? Plan, create, edit and publish imaginative, informative and persuasive written and multimodal texts, using visual features, appropriate form and layout, with ideas grouped in simple paragraphs, mostly correct tense, topic- specific vocabulary and correct spelling of most high-frequency and phonetic Australian Curriculum V9 English Literacy So when you read it for the first time in its completed form, change formats. . (LogOut/ If you didn't make one, that's fine. Writing a book takes a long time, and you may have forgotten what youve included and omitted. Are the characters sufficiently developed? Thats where structural editing can help you improve your writing. You should be the first port of call. They may also . There are many elements comprising a readability score, from sentence structures to word choice. Manuscript assessments can range between $500 and $2,000, depending on your editor, their experience, the turnaround time, and the word count of your novel. Structural editors may suggest reorganizing the piece, adding or deleting sections, or restructuring paragraphs to improve the overall flow and coherence of the writing. Structural Editing vs Developmental Editing, Where Structural Editing Fits In The Editing Process. Understand the writers goals and process for the piece before you start editing. Here is a list of questions to ask yourself during this phase. How Does an Editor Evaluate Book Structure? Editors look for clear delivery of your promise. Common issues that developmental editing can help address include plot holes, inconsistent characterization, pacing problems, and unclear or ineffective writing style. This kind of developmental editing may include going back to the foundations of a book project and sorting out the overall structure, style, and even the purpose and target audience if those arent clear. The form of a strong, lasting story has been around since the beginning of time. Its where you make sure mechanics are watertightby auditing, Youll also want to familiarize yourself with standard. It may come as a surprise to those of you who are new to the industry, but there are actually three different types of editing: structural (or developmental) editing, copy editing (also sometimes called line editing), and proofreading. Structural editing is one of the earliest phases of editing, often happening before or at the same time as developmental editing. Careful editing with a pieces goals in mind throughout can transform an unclear rough draft into a compelling and communicative work of writing. Or am I misusing show dont tell? Schedule a free editorial assessment to learn more. In this module you will learn how to transform your draft work into something that flows well, is free of errors, and is ready to be published. The overuse of exclamation marks is considered a sign of weak writing. In the indentation section hit the 'special' box and set to 'first line'. We evaluate your: Remember, structural editing is the first editing stage. Once that is done, you may wish to have a couple of beta-readers read the manuscriptbe sure to provide them with the checklist above, so theyll know what kind of advice you are looking for at this stage. Is the voice and tone consistent throughout the manuscript? Tweet this. So! Without a structural edit, authors will be left with plot holes, confusing scenes, underdeveloped 2D characters and a truckload of issues that will inevitably bring down the quality of their writing and the readers overall impression of their story. Structural Editing: How to Do it Yourself, 6 Plot Points for Childrens Books (MUST-HAVES), How to Pick a Title for Your Childrens Book. Written by Stephen King, this non-fiction book is part memoir, part writing guide. A good editor will pick apart your story so that every moment is crafted to perfection and will keep your reader interested. These questions provide a framework and mindset on which the developmental edit can be based. A structural editor shapes the organization and content of your story. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. Without them, a complete structural edit is not possible. In this article, you will discover what is involved in the editing process, you'll find out what you need to do to lift your book to the next level, and you will come away with a checklist you can use when editing your next project. The developmental editor will examine the entire manuscript in the process, considering all aspects of the book, including its narrative and flow. The proofreader looks at a facsimile of the finished piece in its final print-ready presentation. The terms structural editing and substantive editing may be used interchangeably because they both refer to the main content of a document. In fact, every writer should start self-editing by doing an overall read-through and evaluation, watching out for overall developmental issues. Yes! Scene breaks also need to be present. Editing is the preparation of written material for publication. They are the first ten things that an editor looks for in your story. The blurb needs to match your manuscript. They use a checklist of the thirty-eight story elements. Does every character have a purpose and a goal? Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. It is important because it can turn a good book into a great one and help the author connect with readers more effectively. The questions will vary for each developmental edit with all books having specific issues and genre questions that should be considered in detail. Before you start editing, make sure that you have created a backup copy of your manuscript. On the left-hand side of the screen, you will see an icon for 'page break.' A structural edit does not address issues of spelling and grammar; these changes occur in a copyedit after all the bigger structural issues have been identified and addressed. 3. Video created by Commonwealth Education Trust for the course "Writing for Young Readers: Opening the Treasure Chest". We'll start by looking at structural . How 15 Experts Successfully Outsource Marketing. This level may involve reorganizing sections and paragraphs for better flow of content. Once you are happy the cursor is correctly placed, click the 'insert' ribbon. This is an important and creative process. Do the events unfold naturally, or are there events that jar or confuse the reader? The difference here is that with structural editing, the editor specifically examines how the pieces structure works to communicate its message, rather than whether it communicates the message effectively overall. A professional structural editor demonstrates a mastery of Part A: The Fundamentals of Editing and meets the following standards. However, even if you intend to use tracked changes, you must ensure that they are turned off at this point. In this extensive guide, well take you through: what is a structural edit, why your book needs one, and what you can do yourself to identify and address structural issues in your fiction. In our previous series for writers, we discussed and provided worksheets for Self Exploration For Writers, Your Writing Life, and Author Considerations Beyond Just Writing, and Planning Your Writing. In this new series, Editing Levels, we will explore: At the end of each post in the series, there is a link to adownloadable and printable PDFcopy on which you can write your responses. Its a critical part of the writing process that shapes a rough draft into a polished final piece. In this module you will learn how to transform your draft work into something that flows well, is free of errors, and is ready to be published. Once the first draft is done, the first phase of editing involves structural and developmental editing where the writer gets feedback and the piece is heavily edited. Once you have these, compare the totals for each with their purpose and significance within your manuscript. This will mean that you have two copies of your novel: the first draft and the edited copy. Also, grammar-check editing tools are becoming ever more in-depth and helpful, so be sure to run your manuscript through one or two of these tools that have received good reviews. You can then adjust as needed. However, here are some examples of these questions that you can use when editing your next book. Are the relationships between the characters well-developed and believable? Thanks so much for this substantial explanation of substantive or structural editing, Norma! The correct way to indent a manuscript is for the first paragraph of each new chapter to be flush and the remaining paragraphs to be indented. Help with your finalstructural edit professional editor licensed software 38 point checklists + MORE! Video created by for the course "". Keep these goals in mind as you edit because theyll determine what youll change and what youll suggest to the author for their next draft. PDF LINK: Editing Levels: 2. It is also important to ensure that you have correctly formatted your dialogue. When you edit, always keep the pieces eventual reader in mind. and i.e.? Are the characters proactive about achieving their goals? Can you confirm your key characters significance by including them in the key scenes? Your editor is looking for balance. However, in some cases, other punctuation will be more appropriate (comma, question mark, etc.). Sometimes its an effort to appear especially educated on or authoritative about the subject theyre discussing. During a professional edit, editors focus on the structure of three primary sections of your manuscript. The developmental editor will examine the entire manuscript in the process, considering all aspects of the book, including its narrative and flow. 2021 3. In the spacing section hit the 'line spacing' box and set to 1.5 lines. Alternatively, a freelance developmental editor can work with an author who needs major help with big picture issues of their manuscript, whether it is fiction or nonfiction. Your blurb is essential during editing. Learning how to be a good editor will make you a better writer overall. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Is the reader provided with a clear sense of place/location? There is no doubt that it will contain structural issues, and/or issues with character development. This is optional naturally, it is essential for our editors but less so for self-editing writers. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Structural editing can help a writer work through their ideas when paired with developmental editing, or can help them understand how the piece can be improved by re-organizing content in a better way. Structural editing is one of the earliest phases of editing, often happening before or at the same time as developmental editing. Remember that this reading time is all about the big picture details, so its important to have your readers hat on. It focuses on the readers enjoyment and understanding, and it develops the sense and flow of a piece. Professional editors learn and apply these techniques through extensive training, advanced education, and professional publishing experience. If images, tables and diagrams have been used, has the copyright been correctly attributed? Developmental evaluation of the overall presentation based upon their subjective publishing experience and expertise, Stylistic or artistic critique comparing your books presentation and alignment with authors in the same genre, Professional feedback as an in-depth summary letter you can use for revisions. Our histories can be revealed by link to How To Create A Fictional Language For Your Fantasy Novel In 8 Steps, link to 7 Tips For Describing Hands In Your Writing, How To Edit Your Novel: The Ultimate Crash Course. Your books story needs to be complete. You may realise that youve completely forgot to describe the setting of an important place, or have described a location so much that it bores the reader. Remember, a key reason for editing and revising is not to simply have an editor step in and fix the manuscript, but rather to have the writer personally work through the entire process, self-editing as much as possible with good critiquing and advice from the writers self-editing teamwhich will result in one becoming a much better writer. The issue is that many eBook conversion tools will not recognize this format. Youll want to download and print out the attached document, as it spaces out the points more, and helps you work through, step-by-step. At some point down the line, someone (a typesetter or the person doing eBook conversion) will need to remove the extra white space, so you should solve this problem now. It questions if and how a piece aligns to others like itspecifically, at a magazine, brand blog, or similar publications. Because youve been caught up in the actual writing of your book, its probably been a while since youve thought in-depth about the big picture details. Structural editing, also known as evaluation editing, is similar to developmental editing in that it also examines your writings organization. A complete structural edit isgenerally more detailed than a manuscript assessment, and works specifically onthe manuscript itself, making suggestions throughout using Track Changes and comments. Substantive or Structural Editing ChecklistBy Norma J Hill (aka Pen and Paper Mama) 2021. Put them in abinder or Duotang-type report folder (you can continue to add to your binder from the previous series). Then, periodically along your writing journey, return to your answers, read what you noted previously, and add new thoughts and experiences. This is fantastic info. The difference here is that with structural editing, the editor specifically examines, the pieces structure works to communicate its message, rather than. A stylistic edit deals with grammarthe way words are put together and the structure of language. Through thoughtful, goal-focused editing, you can take any piece of writing from unconvincing to powerful. UK, For instance, you can determine to developmentally edit a rough draft or content edit a piece thats already had larger structural kinks worked out. Or you can ask for help from members of your self-editing team (alpha/beta readers, writers group members, Feedback group, writing partner). Editing most often happens in two phases: Here at EditorNinja, our professionally trained editors specialize in making your content better so it drives more traffic and converts more of those visitors to customers. Flashback 4. Editing starts with technical preparation. Give additional feedback Have publishing insight to share Edit based on their expertise and past success with other authors For a strong story & manuscript, have a professional finish the structural edit. Structural (or substantive) editing concentrates on the organisation and flow of information presented in a document (or website). Are my scenes in the correct order, or would it make more sense to reorder them? They then evaluate your content using this information. You don't need to make an outline before writing your first draft, but building an outline when you edit your novel and especially before writing your second draftcould save your time and book. Helen Scheuerer is a novelist from Sydney, and the Founding Editor of Writer's Edit. Is the period of time, and the sense of time passing, clear throughout the manuscript? You may have started down one track with a particular plot point and then its ended somewhere unexpected. They also may suggest adding or deleting content while also providing feedback on the overall development of the ideas within the writing. 2. Goal relationship to plot 25. In this module you will learn how to transform your draft work into something that flows well, is free of errors, and is ready . To do this, first, find the end of a chapter. Author Considerations Beyond Just Writing, Editing Levels 3: Substantive or Structural Editing Checklist, Conversations, Reflections, and Meditations. If it is too short, how can it be extended? Learning how to be a good editor will make you a better writer overall. The structural edit (also known as developmental or substantive editing) is the most complex, in-depth, and time-consuming stage of editing. You can either do a manual 'find next' and replace each with the correct punctuation. This way you'll be less protective of your writing and better prepared to make changes. Great writing doesnt appear out of nowhereits the result of a thoughtful, organized editing process. It involves looking at the big picture elements of the narrative and characters, and examining which of these elements are working and which could be improved, cut or changed altogether. You want to ensure that you have a clear picture of your initial vision for your novel. Is there one clear main character, or am I trying to juggle too many central characters at once? But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. Plot: Is the plot plausible? While the previous editing stages have looked at big picture issues, stylistic editing brings the focus down to the paragraph and sentence levels. As a rule, we find it is best to edit at 1.5 line spacing. Some pieces require multiple types of editingpossibly all seven! For example, if youre editing your sisters cover letter, youll probably be doing developmental and structural editing followed by line editing and proofreading. Alternatively, if you are looking to work closely with a developmental editor we can also provide a book mentoring service. How To Create A Fictional Language For Your Fantasy Novel In 8 Steps. Character Name: _____ Table 1 - Character Emotional Register Create an emotional . Youll want to evaluate each scene, noting whether its necessary, the events unfold in a logical manner, and so on. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". When a professional developmental editor approaches each book, they will hold in their mind a number of questions they wish to apply to the book. An editor uses this as the compass for evaluating every aspect of your manuscript. If the author is a student whose goal is to write a compelling essay that earns an A, a strong essay is one that fits the assignment. Once you have completed these structural evaluations of your story arc, you can more easily adjust and revise your scenes accordingly. Ignore the small errors like spelling and grammar for now, and only jot something down when you notice a big issue is there an inconsistency in the voice? Questions about Scene Using essay editing tools 4. However, any editor can bring a fact-checking component to their process. You will need one page per character. The eBook language (HTML) already has its own symbol for an ellipsis, and that's (dot dot dot no spaces). Dont be afraid to use that trusty red pen! document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. A substantive edit of a manuscript with several major issues can take quite a lot of time and work, including rearranging the organization of the manuscript, deleting or adding details or even whole sections, rewriting entire pages and chapters, removing excess background information or placing it at more appropriate moments in the plot, correcting major plot issues, or working on character development. Improper use of conjunctions and prepositions, Once youve got the basics of what makes a thorough editing checklist, you can edit just about anything, anywhere, Editing your own writing involves the same processes as editing other peoples work. Claim your free eBook today and join over 25,000 writers who have read and benefited from this ebook. Dont forget to download and print out the checklist that goes with this post. Below are some frequently asked questions that will provide you with more information. Substantive editing works on things like story elements, plot, characterization, dialogue, scene order, point of view, eloquence of thought, setting, pace, logical transitions and flow, consistency, and a pleasing resolution. Put them in abinder or Duotang-type report folder (you can continue to add to your binder from the previous series). Single spaces are enough. Ensure you complete these first three tasks. When in doubt, go with the simpler word. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. You most likely wrote your book on the computer, right? Copy Editing vs Proofreading Whats the Difference?

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