A publisher will always expect a manuscript to be in the best state it can be when it’s submitted. It’s always best to give your story that one final polish. Likewise, if you’re self-publishing, not everyone can afford an editor. Some authors prefer to rely on other ways of making sure their book is in tip-top condition. Here are a few tips to help. Bear in mind this neither an exhaustive list nor a do-or-die one. There are no absolutes in writing, rules sure, but no absolutes. Every author will have their own way of working, their own voice.

So, here goes.

Pet words.

We all have them, those sneaky little words that appear all over the place like the proverbial rash. Here are some of the more commonly used ones:

Look
Even
Only
Just
Against (appears quite a lot in the naughty bits)
Pull
Push
A little
Move
Walk

If you suspect you may be a little too fond of a few words, it’s worth running a search and getting rid of some where there may be a cluster. Having said that, it’s okay if the word is in a line of dialogue, in most cases. But having several look, looked, looking in one or two paragraphs can be a little distracting.

Said.
It is so easy just to use said as a dialogue tag, after all, some of the alternatives can be a wee bit on the purple side. So there’s no need to grab the thesaurus and sprinkle the manuscript with words like expostulate, etc. If you think you have too many ‘said’ in a chunk of dialogue, consider replacing with an action tag. An action tag can convey a lot about how a given character is feeling as they speak. So:

“I’m not sure this is such a great idea,” Fred said.

Or

“I’m not sure this is such a great idea.” Fred bit his lip.

The action tag gives us a pretty good indication that Fred might be a little apprehensive about something.

Adverbs.
Love them or hate them, adverbs are part and parcel of a story. I’ve seen well-meaning advice suggesting that adverbs are the devil’s own. They’re not. But like everything else, should be used in moderation. In some instances, a sequence of adverbs, e.g. truly, madly, deeply, can convey a lot of emotion. In other instances they can be a bit of a distraction. It’s tempting to use them but in many cases, they can be replaced with a stronger verb. So:

Fred closed the door loudly.

Or

Fred slammed the door.

It’s a basic example, but a stronger verb, like an action tag, can make a point in a less cluttered manner.

These are just a few things you can look for when doing that final polish. I could go on and on and on, but life’s too short and I have things to do!

How to look at your manuscript in a different way.

Okay, so you’ve written, you’ve rewritten, you’ve made changes after taking beta reader comments on board, you could recite big chunks of your manuscript in your sleep and you might feel like screaming because you’re sick of the sight of it.

I have some tips for a final read-through, which may help you find stuff you can easily miss because you’re so familiar with what you’ve written.

Read it aloud. This is a great way of finding little things, maybe commas in the wrong place, or missing words.

Read it backwards. When we read from beginning to end our minds tend to fill in the blanks, or skim over the small flaws. Reading backwards is a way of halting that rush and making us look more carefully.

Change the font. This is another way of making a manuscript look different so it’s a little easier to catch the small stuff. So, if you use Times New Roman, Georgia, any font with serifs, switch to a sans serif font, Arial, Comic sans, whatever floats your boat.

So that’s it. I hope you find some of these suggestions helpful. If you have any useful tips you’d like to share, feel free to post in the comment section below.

In the meantime, have a wonderful holiday season full of peace, warmth and love.