How to fine-tune your manuscript

A manuscript can be anything from a scholarly journal to a book. It is important to go through several revisions before your work is ready for submission. The best way to ensure that your manuscript is error-free is to have your work reviewed by a competent English editing service.

Once you have completed writing your work, your manuscript, the best way to do a self-check is to give it a fresh read. You can do this from the very next day that you have finished with the first draft of your work.

Read afresh.

You must remember to be critical. You are emotionally attached to your work and are prone to overlook some things that may be inappropriate, out of the love or glory of coinage. Of course, some creative phrases may never have emerged if they had fallen under the eagle eye of an editor. I would say that a phrase like “with blossomed furze unprofitably gay” would have never seen the light of day or for that matter, “For oft, when on my couch I lie in vacant or in pensive mood they flash upon that inward eye which is the bliss of solitude.” A fresh read allows you to be critical, you can stop being too overprotective of your writing.

Print and read

A good way of editing is by reading on a printed copy with a pencil in hand. It works better than onscreen reading. We still belong to the paper and pencil generation who have studied not on computer monitors but on paper notebooks. I would give more credit to printed documents for manuscript editing.

Light read

You do not need to fasten your seat belt at the first go; give your manuscript a light read, and the errors will fall in place. A deeper reading will bring more to your attention. But with a light reading, you can start taking notes of the changes that you would like to make to your draft.

Reading aloud

If you are easily prone to distractions, then reading aloud should help. If you have profited from this experience in the past try it again, as your ear will point out the small digressions.

Notice the details

Evaluate the script depending on its nature. If you are checking a work of fiction, carefully check on continuities of situations as you pick them in different chapters, names of the less important characters, families and their members, names of places, attire, etc. You must have an overly critical view of these details. In fact, the editing work should be done in layers.

If your work is nonfictional, check if you have presented each point reasonably backed with proof, statistics, quotes, and proper evaluation. Be honest and keep away from plagiarism. Check if you have acknowledged quotes and maintained a proper bibliography and mentioned references.

Conclusion

Manuscript editing is more difficult work than writing and the first part of the editing must be taken up by the writers themselves. Seek an English editing service and have your work thoroughly checked. Visit HKNETS, https://www.hknets.net/ as they have a different desk for editors who peel through your manuscript in stages and clean it of errors with the best professional skills. You will notice a rewarding difference after your work has passed through their editing.