Make Sure Your Self-Editing Efforts are Productive by Staying Up-to-Date with Publishing Trends & Tips

by Edie Melson @EdieMelson

Tips & Trends in Print & Ebooks

1. Self-publishing is hotter than ever. Many independent bookstores are very open to self-published books as long as they’re with standard distributors and offer store returns. Be warned though, offering returns can cost authors money, so do your homework. 

2. Many small publishers are being acquired by larger ones. This tells us that there are good small presses out there. Do your homework and set goals BEFORE being caught up in the “They offered me a contract” insanity. 

3. Book covers matter. Just because a book cover is beautiful doesn’t mean it’s effective. Learn what makes a cover work—Fonts, text placement, colors, even cover endorsements.

4. Be aware of the changes in the way people read. The general reader prefers 

• Stories that move forward. This means be careful about the use of narrative that bogs down the story. Avoid an overuse of colons, semi-colons and especially exclamation marks.
• A light hand with dialect. Anything that makes a book hard to read is going to be tough to keep the interest with readers.
• Shorter chapters. Time is short and frequently a reader will commit if a chapter is short and often read additional chapters. However if the chapters are long, they’ll put in a bookmark and wait for more time—something that rarely happens. 

5. Don’t expect to be the exception. They’re called exceptions because they don’t happen often. When we base publishing success on this slight change we are setting ourselves up for failure or at least a very uphill climb. 

6. Social media really does sell books when used effectively. I have a friend who used her email list and Facebook to generate over 1000 preorders on a recent book. 

• Don’t bombard your social media audience with advertising only. First build your audience by providing value that benefits them (not you). Then when you’re ready to start promoting, they’re ready to listen and help spread the word. 

7. In person marketing is hot and effective. While social media does sell books, people are also attaching more value to in-person events. Make sure you do more than just hold a book signing, instead make it an event!

8. Excellence is critical. This means self-pub authors must invest in professional editing, And even authors with traditional contracts with small to medium publishers are investing in freelance editing. NOTE: hire an editor with a proven track record. Remember that academic writing is VERY different from commercial publishing. The style guides are different and so are the rules.

Self-editing Tips

1. When preparing your book for submission or getting it ready to self-publish these are things you should NOT do for formatting.

• Use two spaces between sentences. This is a convention that was in place during the era when typewriters were popular. Prior to that, the standard was a single space between sentences and that’s the standard now. 
• Use the indent key or space bar to indent paragraphs. Instead set Microsoft Word for automatic indents.
• Use the return key to get to another page. Instead insert a page break.
• Use block formatting. Instead double-space the entire document, with no extra lines between paragraphs.
• Use non-standard margins. Standard is 1-inch margins all around the page.

2. Beware of too much direct address in dialogue. People do not go around calling each other by name when they start a sentence. Don’t make the mistake of doing that when writing.

• Not: “Bob, did you see that?”
• Instead: Sally focused on Bob. “Did you see that?”

3. Avoid state-of-being-verbs used in passive tense. 

• Not: The scent was fresh and new like a flower after the rain.
• Instead: The fresh scent hung in the air like a late blooming rose after the rain.

4. Invite your reader to experience the story along with your characters, don’t make them bystanders by telling the story. In my opinion, this is a better way to look at “Show don’t tell”. That phrase is overused and vague. This includes a lot of tricks including:

• Don’t use extraneous tags to tell the story. Stick with said, asked and an occasional whispered.
• Not: “I hate him,” she stated vehemently. 
• Instead: “I hate him.” A muscle in her jaw twitched.
• Avoid Naming emotions. I won’t say I never do it, but I do my best to avoid it.
• Not: Susan felt restless.
• Instead: Susan paced across the floor, wearing a pattern in the dust.
• Look for words that give you a clue you’re telling instead of showing: 
• Felt, remembered, knew, watched, began, started, saw, looked, seemed. 
• Be wary of using omniscient POV. It’s very difficult to write it well enough that the reader feels a connection to the characters. 

5. Watch for repeated or weasel words. Especially check for the overuse of just, then, and that.

6. Avoid the overuse of qualifying words, even in dialogue, (“Well, it was meant to be a surprise.”)

7. Talking heads—and the opposite—unnecessarily speaker beats. Here’s a news flash. Every action a character makes should move the story ahead or deepen the scene.

8. Dialogue written in monologues. Even if a character is lecturing or making a speech, insert reactions from other characters.

9. Avoid words that are vague—moved, things, it.

10. Look out for redundancy: Sally shook her head. “No.”

11. Motivation-reaction units. Did he jump after he heard the gunshot or before?

12. Include all 5 senses in every scene.

13. Examine sentence structure. Do I start three paragraphs in a row with she? Are all my sentences in a certain section written the same way?

14. Read your entire book out loud. 

Specific for General Nonfiction (not memoir or biography)

1. In general, larger publishers expect nonfiction authors to have an established, active platform.

2. Insert bold headings into chapters for easier readability. 

3. Stay on track. Nonfiction readers are looking for answers. ALWAYS keep that in mind.

4. Utilize bullet points and lists for easier take-away.

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Edie Melson is a woman of faith with ink-stained fingers observing life through the lens of her camera. No matter whether she’s talking to writers, entrepreneurs, or readers, her first advice is always “Find your voice, live your story.” As an author, blogger, and speaker she’s encouraged and challenged audiences across the country and around the world. Her numerous books reflect her passion to help others develop the strength of their God-given gifts and apply them to their lives.Connect with her on her website, through Facebook, X (formally Twitter) and on Instagram.