In the Writer’s Digest video, How to Become a Ferocious Self-Editor, author Jerry B. Jenkins recommends that in order to be publication ready, every author needs to intensely self-edit. He advises that you should,
- make every word count
- pay attention to your dialogue
- avoid hackneyed language and situations
- get quickly to your point
- maintain one point of view
- resist the urge to explain
I’ll be watching for these as I’m going over draft two of Grace Awakening Myth (aka Book three) this week. What are you self-editing these days?
Shawn L. Bird 
“resist the urge to explain” is my biggest flaw. Thanks for sharing.
There’s a fine line between over-explicating and being obtuse, isn’t there? 🙂
Well said!
“Make every word count.” That’s hard to do. I often tell new writers this. It’s hard to cut a beautiful paragraph or chapter that doesn’t move the story forward. You know?
Thanks for posting this. I found you on Twitter.
Hi Wayne, thanks for coming by from Twitter! I think that it’s harder to ‘let those good words go’ when you’re fresh from writing them. A month or two later, you can more clearly and unemotionally see that they are not helping, and it’s easier to cut them out.
Meg Tilly told me that she hates to let the words go completely, so when she cuts them, she moves them to the back of the manuscript where she knows they’re still around. That’s a strategy for those who are too attached to the words! 🙂
PS. Meg’s website/blog is here
What a great idea!