Book Review: Self-Editing for Fiction Writers

Time to pick another dog-eared writing book off my shelf. I believe this is the first writing book I ever bought, after hearing so many writers rave about it.

And they were right.

Self-Editing for Fiction Writers: How to Edit Yourself into Print by Renni Browne and Dave King is a resource that will help every fiction writer make their manuscript far better than it was before. The authors use excerpts from actual books to show the concepts they explain, and each chapter ends with a helpful checklist of things to do, plus several exercises to help you practice.

For example, in the chapter on  Point of View, the checklist gives nine questions to ask yourself about your story. The exercise section has two passages where Brownes and King encourage the reader to spot the point of view problems they explained in the chapter (the answers are included in the back). Lastly, the authors set up a scenario and ask you to write the scene from first person, third person, and omniscient points of view.

With twelve well-crafted chapters like this, it's impossible for your manuscript not to improve, if you follow the authors' advice.

Both of the authors work full-time in editing, and their websites offer some great resources, whether or not you take advantage of their editorial services.

Renni Browne's company is called The Editorial Department. Her company hosts an excellent blog (right now, posting on Building an Author Platform), a series of writing articles to read, and a monthly ezine.

Dave King Editorial Services is another website to explore. He has a nice list of writing articles, and a place where you can ask him your questions. And if you are in need of a professional editor, and don't have the funds, you can apply for King's Starving Writer Program.

To read the rest of my book reviews, click here.