How To Edit Yourself When You Are Self Publishing

4 Steps to Do It Yourself (with some help)

Just because you are self-publishing doesn’t mean you need to do EVERYTHING yourself. In today’s world of technology, there are so many wonderful resources at our disposal that make editing your writing easy and affordable. Heres how I edit my picture books for self-publishing.

1.) Start with your Critique Group

This is a must. If you want to know why, I have another fabulous blog post where you can read all about the Importance of Critique Groups. Critique groups are a great first step for editing. You can vet your initial idea. Get feedback on plot holes and work your way up to some line editing feedback.

2.) Get the Grammarly App

For additional guidance, I use the app Grammarly to help me edit my work in real time. I have the app downloaded to my laptop and use the extension when I am typing anything online, including social media posts. (This app can save you from so much embarrassment. Your Welcome … You’re Welcome… thanks again Grammarly!)
It’s a great tool to help you self-edit any type of writing, but ESPECIALLY for your children’s books.

3.) Use an Online Proofreading Service

I use the service Wordy for the proofreading and line editing. I’ve used it for every book that I have self-published. With Wordy, your writing is proofread by real people and the turnaround time is very quick! I had one editor even give me better suggestions for rhyming words in my book “Digger’s Daily Routine”. I was able to chat with my Wordy editor and ask additional questions. She was a tremendous help. Also with Wordy, you pay by the word which is AWESOME because picture book manuscripts (usually) contain low word counts (400-1000) which make this service SUPER affordable.

4.) Rinse and Repeat

Check and check and check again. Get as many eyes as you can on your work every step of the way. Often I will submit a story to the critique group three or more times. I will pass it along to friends and submit to Wordy multiple times until I’m SURE it’s ready.

Again there are so many wonderful services available to us self-publishers, but at the end of the day, YOU have the final say.