Where to Find Free Editing for Your Manuscript

by Bruce Brady @BDBrady007

It’s writing conference time across the country. We hear many things at these gathers.

Some true.

Some not so true.

But one of the truths we always hear is that we need to edit our manuscripts before submitting them to agents and publishers.

 Traditional publishers have editors whose job is to help authors polish their work, making it the best it can be to ensure sales success. In this scenario, writers need to do the best self-editing they can before presenting it to these industry professionals.

Self-publishers—indie publishers—need to be just as careful, if not more so, because the success of their work lies solely on them. More experienced writers encourage them to hire professionals for things like book covers, formatting, and editing. And editing can be expensive. Especially, if we want top-notch editing.

If you have deep pockets, then hire the best editors you can. But, if you are like me, and many other writers, you have little to no budget for contracting professional services.

So, what do we do?

Join or start a critique group.

Sometimes that’s challenging. We want to make sure the group is composed of like-minded writers who have a genuine desire to help other writers as much as they want help. We want to be sure they check their egos at the door, and consider the needs of all the members to be as important, or more so, than their own. We want at least some of the members to be as or more experienced than us. And, we want members who are committed to the group, even when they have nothing to be critiqued.

The good news is these groups can be found or formed. There are national and local critique group organizations with mission statements and rules that each member agrees to before joining. We need only study the membership criteria to determine if these organizations are a good fit.

These groups offer a range of options from face-to-face meetings at local venues, email groups, online document sharing groups, and video conferencing groups. I prefer the latter as it offers the intimacy of face-to-face and the convenience of meeting without leaving home. I’m a little biased because I’m the Online Chapter Mentor for Word Weavers International.

The best of these groups meet regularly, don’t read or critique the submissions until meeting time, and the manuscripts are read by someone other than the writer. This allows the authors to hear their words through the mind and voice of others. And, because it’s being read for the first time by people who don’t know what the writers were thinking, we learn whether our words are having the desired effect.

An additional benefit—and my personal favorite—critique groups become families. We build close relationships with the other members as we learn to trust their criticisms. There’s no better feeling than submitting a manuscript, knowing those who read and critique it do so to help us become the best writers we can be. And, these editors provide their services absolutely free.

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Bruce Brady is an author, writer and playwright. His work has appeared in Focus on the Family’s Thriving Family, www.ChristianDevotions.us, and on stage. Currently, Bruce is working on a Young Adult Novel about a boy who must deal with the death of his dad, being bullied, and helping his mom through her grief. His first five pages took third place in the ACFW South Carolina Chapter’s “First Five Pages” contest.When he’s not writing, Bruce spends time learning from and helping other writers. He serves as Mentor of Word Weavers International’s Online Chapter, and as a member of Cross ‘N’ Pens, The Writer’s Plot, ACFW’s National and South Carolina Chapters.