Why Self-Editing is So Hard

I spend my days editing other authors’ work, and let me tell you, as much as I enjoy it, it’s not easy. But what’s even harder is editing your own work. I mean, I can do a dozen passes through my own work, applying the same techniques I do to other authors’ work, and still find errors on the thirteenth pass.

There are a number of reasons why editing your own work is so hard. Some of them are based on the mechanics of the English language. Others are based on the psychology and science of how the human brain processes information. So, don’t let difficult self-editing get you down. It’s only human!

English is hard

I recently took a grammar refresher course, and I learned a few things:

• Almost every grammar rule is not self-explanatory. It is often up to the grammar book to interpret and explain the rule. This means there could be subtle differences, depending on which grammar book you use.
• Grammar changes. Today’s grammar is not the same grammar I learned years ago in middle school. Think of all the words we use today that didn’t exist five, ten, or twenty years ago. The world has become less formal in general, and grammar has followed suit.
• Much of what grammar books teach is based on things sounding “right,” but “right” is subjective. It also expects you to be a professional English speaker to know if your grammar is correct or not. Talk about a catch-22!
• There are so many rules governing “correct” grammar and nearly as many exceptions to the rules.

In short, it’s hard to make your own work grammatically perfect because grammar itself is not perfect. And it continues to evolve.

Telling a good story is hard

In order to tell a good story with a clear and satisfying resolution, you have to know what I’ve coined the “Elements of Storytelling.” This includes:

• plot structure
• character arcs
• consistent point of view
• showing and not telling
• use of literary devices

to name a few. Writing a good story is about more than just sitting down at a keyboard and, as Ernest Hemingway said, opening a vein. There is also more to editing than grammar.

The psychology and science of why it is hard

Anyone who has toiled over a book-length manuscript knows how difficult it can be, not to mention how time-consuming. Psychologically speaking, authors tend to suffer from a series of biases.

• You likely have an emotional attachment to your writing, making it hard to be objective when it comes to cutting things.
• Because you’ve spent so much time on the work, your brain tends to confuse what you think you wrote with what you actually wrote. And it fills in the blanks, preventing you from finding errors and omissions.
• You might suffer from confirmation bias, which means that you focus on what confirms your beliefs or interpretations, making it hard to identify flaws and weaknesses. In other words, if I think my character has a full and satisfying arc, then I will believe my character has a full and satisfying arc, and I won’t look for information to the contrary.
• You might be too critical of your work, or not critical enough, or lack the expertise to do an effective job.
• Finally, there may be a lack of distance between the author and the reader. Your pride over what you have written might prevent you from seeing it through your readers’ eyes.

Scientifically speaking, writing uses one part of your brain for creativity, while editing uses another part of your brain (the skeptical voice that stands in for your readers), and it may be hard to get them to cooperate.

Key takeaways

Editing your own work is difficult, but not impossible. Your best bet is to read, revise, and repeat until you are sure your manuscript is the best it can be. Then, look for an editor. After editing, seek out beta readers. Ask them specific questions, such as

• Is the ending satisfying?
• What did you like or dislike about the characters?
• Are there any obvious typos?
• What about the story would you change?

and so on.

Take each person’s feedback with a grain of salt. Go with the majority consensus. Think hard before changing anything on one person’s say-so. Review your feedback and consider what, if anything, you might revise. Then, read your book at least one more time before sending it out to an agent or self-publishing.

Do you have any tips for editing your own work? If so, join the Substack conversation and let me know what they are. I will credit you and feature your ideas in a future post.