So, you want to get published~
I know, I've been there!
~Out of the Slush Pile and onto the Bookshelf~
A Self-Editing Checklist for Fiction
Writer’s
One of my critique partners called me the other day. Her voice shook and she was almost incoherent. Her sticky was missing.
You know, her STICKY!
That little note stuck to the edge of our desk or monitor to remind us of our most common editing mistakes. Mine is pink and tells me to “watch sequential commas, comma splices, take out extra that’s, and avoid cupped as a verb.” There’s also something else scrawled up the edge, but I can’t decipher my own writing. I’m sure it was important… and hopefully I remember what it is in time to fix my document before sending it out to an editor.
But, that’s when I realized a post-it note just isn’t big enough. And what if it gets lost?
So, I started a list of my most common mistakes. And then I combed through self-editing books to notate other common mistakes. Turns out there were lots of them—three pages worth, for a start. I kept looking in the back of these books, hoping for a clear and concise list to use. You know, an actual checklist to use when finalizing a manuscript so that when it gets to the editor’s desk it isn’t missing vital information, isn’t poorly formatted, and doesn’t have pedestrian prose. I didn’t find one.
So, I created one. And here it is.
This is just the first revision. I’ll be adding to it, revising it, and probably it will end up a lot longer than three pages. And it sure beats that pink sticky hanging on my monitor.
This checklist is meant to be a living document. Copy it, modify it, use it as your own. And if you want to share your suggestions and common mistakes, drop me an e-mail at Pamsko@sbcglobal.net. I’ll be glad to add them to the next revision~
Until then. . .keep writing. . .and submitting. . .