The Forgotten Step

Many times, people forget that once you have a completed manuscript in front of you, your work is only half done. Editing and proofreading are two of the most important steps you must take if you truly want to be published some day. When editing, it’s more important than ever that you put yourself in the right mood because you must be able to critique yourself. Remember to be honest—that part where Jasmine and Gregorio are standing on the balcony and you go into great detail about the positioning of their hands and the intricate embroidery of their coats may sound poetic and descriptive, but is it really necessary for moving the story as a whole forward? And remember that day when you didn’t really feel like writing but you felt like you should type something up and you just glossed over their whole ten day journey to Paris? Well, it might be a good idea to go back and flesh that out a bit.

To be fair, I’ve included below an example of a “Before” and “After” selection of my own writing. Notice all the changes I made after one proofreading. There is still a lot more I could do to it, which is why multiple proofreadings are often necessary.

Before:
Mitch stared blankly out the window at the dirty street where a homeless woman scantily clothed in rags and with nothing on her feet was shuffling forward slowly, her back hunched. Almost as if she felt his eyes, she suddenly looked up at his window. She saw the pale, blonde American standing there and smiled a toothless smile. The young man turned away.

After:
Mitch stared vacantly out the window at the dusty alleyway, his eyes listlessly following the progress of an old, barefoot woman scantily clothed in rags as she shuffled forward slowly, her back hunched. Her pot belly swayed like a full sack of flour, bulging obscenely from beneath her tattered wrap. Almost as if she felt his gaze, she jerked her head up suddenly and stared at his window. She saw the young, pale American standing there and her dark eyes nearly disappeared into the mass of black wrinkles that wreathed her face as she smiled a wicked, toothless smile. With tears streaming silently out of his bloodshot eyes, Mitch drew in a deep breath, and turned away.