My problem with self-editing is that I don’t like to waste time. So, when I delete entire paragraphs or pages of work…I feel like I wasted the time I sepnt writing it.
.-= Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen´s last blog post ..Writing for Online Magazines – How to Find Work on the Web =-.

Jason, Laurie, great stuff here

George
.-= George Angus´s last blog post ..Classic Tumblemoose: Green Eggs and Spam =-.

But, I think your sample population isn’t representative of writers as a whole. That is, your clients recognize their writing needs to be tightened. Those writers represent a “my writing needs external editing so I will hire a book doctor” group….

So yes, most of the writers you encounter can’t edit. Just like most of the people a doctor sees are ill, or most of the people a mortgage loan officer sees need money to buy a house.

I think a book doctor or freelance editor can really help writers — don’t get me wrong.

And, I agree that many good writers look back on their work and hate it. Me, I’m embarrassed to read my old posts! I avoid it at all costs.

Now I must stop procrastinating…I have an ebook to write, and it’s a bit of a bear….
.-= Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen´s last blog post ..How to Edit Your Writing – 5 Self-Editing Tips =-.

> Maybe it’s more accurate to say that some writers can edit their writing better than others?

Well, of course that’s true. There’s always variation in any skill across a population of people. A few will be naturally really good, a few really horrible, and most will be in a big group in the middle.

What prompted me to tweet “most writers can’t edit,” which in turn led to me writing this article in the first place, was my observation as a freelance editor that the people in that big group in the middle clearly have poor to non-existent self editing skills.

In the past year, I’ve read, analyzed, and critiqued about 1.3 million words worth of fiction from my clients (yes, being a stats geek, I keep track of everything). I don’t know about you, but I consider that a representative sample.

In that sample, maybe two manuscripts came to me with clean writing that flowed smoothly. Four or five were in the painfully-bad category.

The rest, more than 20, were in that big lump in the middle. Rough, but salvageable. All those writers need to do is set those manuscripts aside for a while, spend some quality time building up their skills, then go take another pass over their stories. I hope the tips in this article will help them do that.

And if I might add, I think that good writers are doomed to hate their own work. That’s a natural consequence of what good writers do: continually improve their skills. We may be proud of our own work, but we’re doomed to hate it just the same.

I came to this conclusion recently while looking over proofs of a novel I’ve got coming out this summer. I wrote it in 2006. I’m better now than I was then. And as I looked over the proofs, I couldn’t help but see the myriad places where, in my eyes, the writing sucks. I know I could write it so much better now. I wrote it the best I could at the time I wrote it, but after another three and a half years of skill-building, I can now see all the problems I couldn’t see then.

It kills me that I can’t call the publisher and say “Wait, please! Give me a month to line edit the crap out of it! Trust me, it needs it!”

So if you hate your old work because you think it sucks, take that as a very good sign. It means you’re a better writer than you used to be.
.-= Jason Black´s last blog post ..Three steps to a breakout story =-.

Good writers can and do edit their own work. They may need an outside perspective to help them see their work objectively, but I think most writers can edit themselves effectively.

Of course, it depends on the writer’s experience, skill set, objectivity level, and ability to see his work dispassionately….maybe it’s more accurate to say that some writers can edit their writing better than others?
.-= Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen´s last blog post ..How to Edit Your Writing – 5 Self-Editing Tips =-.

Found this quote yesterday:

“Only bad writers think their book is really good”

So true!

and I roared with laughter at myself the other day. Happened to look in one of my books, opened a page at random … “He dropped his feet to the floor” I thought my character was limping a bit lately LOl (see, even experienced authors make boo-boos! My editor laughed too, can’t think how she missed it!)
Not quite as bad as “his eyes roamed round the room” or “his eyes rested on her breasts.”
and if you can’t see what is wrong with those two phrases – take Jason’s advice and find out!