How to Edit a Book: A Practical Guide with 7 Easy Steps

• Oct 21, 2024
• 5 min read

• Tags: Editing, Editing Services, Language, Proofreading

Editing a book is like solving a complex puzzle – it requires patience, skill, and a strategic approach. Learn how to edit a book with 7 clear, practical steps! 

These steps will guide you to edit the plot, and characters, and enhance your book’s overall readability. We’ve also answered questions like: How much does it cost to edit a book? Which book editing software and AI tools can be used to edit a book? So, without further ado, let’s dive into the details! 

The 7 steps of editing a book are: 

1. Step away from the first draft 
2. Read your book 
3. Resolve major issues with plot, characters, and pacing  
4. Correct any issues related to writing style 
5. Perform line editing and copyediting 
6. Get feedback from beta readers 
7. Make changes as per feedback received 

Now let’s explore every step in detail! 

1. Step away from your first draft 

This is a crucial step to edit with a fresh perspective. During this time, you can read some books in your genre, dabble in other creative hobbies, get some fresh air outdoors, and chat with close friends. 

With this, you can also create a plan for your revisions. List key areas you wish to edit, and set a deadline for every aspect. 

Some simple tools you can use for planning are: 

• EditPad 
• Google Docs 
• Evernote 
• MS Word 

2. Read your book 

Find a quiet, comfortable space where you can read without distractions. Make notes about the following issues from the readers’ perspective: 

• • • Setting: Analyze if the setting is consistent, coherent, and well-described or if there are sudden, unexplained changes. For example, identify if there is a shift from an indoor scene to an outdoor scene without explanation. 
    • Themes: Check whether the themes are effectively conveyed through the setting, characters, plot, and dialogues. For example, if the theme is justice, is it conveyed accurately, or is there an implied message of injustice in the story? 
    • Point of view: Is the point of view engaging, consistent, and appropriate, or are there unintentional shifts? For example, is there a sudden shift from the protagonist’s to the antagonist’s point of view when the antagonist starts speaking? 
    • Additional details: Read character descriptions and the established timeline thoroughly and check if there is consistency. For example, if a character is introduced as having brown hair, ensure that this detail doesn’t change to black hair. Also, check if the time mentioned is aligned with the character’s age and experience. 
    • Continuity of events: Verify that the consequences of earlier events are accurately reflected in later scenes. For example, if a character sustains an injury, ensure that the injury is mentioned and affects their actions in subsequent chapters until it is healed. 

Once you fix any issues related to these details, you can move to the next step.  

3. Identify and resolve any plot, character, and pacing issues

This is an important aspect of developmental editing. The author can analyze the following elements for editing a book for publishing: 

Problems with the plot 

• • • • Check for plot holes or inconsistencies that may confuse readers. Create a plot timeline to understand whether there are any contradictions in your plot. 
      • Evaluate if the scenes are engaging enough with adequate tension and conflict to hook readers. Introduce obstacles, challenges, and risks if the conflict is not engaging. 
      • If there are any unresolved subplots, provide clear outcomes for them so that the reader doesn’t have any doubts. 
      • Examine if the story has a clear beginning, middle, and end. If something is confusing, clarify it using language that’s easy to understand. 

Problems related to characters 

• • • • If you find that your main characters are not introduced early enough or too many characters are introduced at once, consider making changes to avoid confusing your readers.
      • If the protagonist doesn’t show any character development and it isn’t described how the protagonist has changed towards the end, make changes. Add content about the protagonist’s actions or emotions to show how he/she has changed. 
      • Determine if the secondary characters are fully developed and have proper roles and motives for their actions. If not, provide them with unique personalities and well-defined roles and motives. 
      • Check if the characters are engaging and relatable and have believable strengths and weaknesses. If the characters’ traits and actions are unrealistic or unrelatable, change them. 
      • Are the characters’ emotions and traits shown using the show, don’t tell principle? Analyze if details like tastes, sounds, smells, touch, and visuals effectively describe the characters’ traits and attributes. 

Problems related to pacing 

• • • • Enhance/remove any rushed/underdeveloped scenes that don’t allow readers to relate to the characters. 
      • Remove any slow and sluggish scenes and excessive backstory that is not required. 
      • Correct any uneven pacing where too much time is spent on minor subplots and details. 

Tip: Use shorter sentences and paragraphs for fast-paced scenes and longer, more descriptive passages for slower moments.

4. Correct any issues related to writing style 

Do not skip this step of how to edit a book for publishing! Following are the steps to enhance your book’s writing style: 

• • • • Eliminate any overuse of passive voice, adjectives, and adverbs that make the writing less engaging. 
      • Improve any complex sentences, and remove any clichéd and flowery language. 
      • Change any repetitive sentence structures that make the writing seem monotonous. 
      • Modify any inconsistent tone or voice in the story. For example, if the book’s tone is casual, and there is a section that sounds formal and unnatural, edit that section. 

You can also use book editing software like Hemingway Editor and ProWritingAid to identify problems related to writing style. Interestingly, these tools also leverage the power of AI for book editing. This brings us to the question: Can AI edit a book? 

The answer is of course ‘Yes!’ AI can help in correcting spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors. It can also rectify any capitalization mistakes and inconsistencies in one’s writing style. 

However, it cannot fully replace the critical thinking, creativity, and emotional understanding of trained human editors. Hence, it’s essential to combine human expertise with AI efficiency. This is exactly what PaperTrue’s AI + professional human editing services achieve. 

Now let us see two of the most important stages of editing a book! 

5. Perform line editing and copyediting 

Line editing involves checking every line to improve the draft’s overall flow, clarity, and readability. On the other hand, copyediting focuses on the technical aspects of the manuscript, such as grammar, punctuation, spelling, and consistency.

Following are the steps to ensure accurate line editing: 

• • • • Remove any dialogue that sounds unnatural and awkward. 
      • If there is any overuse of dialogue tags (for example, “he said”, or “she asked”) modify those sentences. 
      • Eliminate any dialogues used to convey an excessive amount of backstory. Also, trim any overuse of people’s names in the dialogue that sounds awkward. 
      • Change any words that are inappropriate as per the context. 
      • Analyze if there is any awkward phrasing and change it. 
      • Check if there is consistency in tone, variation of sentence structures, and smooth, clear transitions. 

Now let us understand how to perform copy-editing! 

• • • • Analyze if the verb tenses are consistent in the book. 
      • Examine if punctuation is used correctly. You can also use punctuation checkers like HixAI, and QuillBot. 
      • Check if the capitalization for all proper nouns and chapter titles is correct. 
      • Change any incorrect usage of pronouns, and articles. 
      • Use spell-checkers of QuillBot Grammarly, Ginger, and Reverso to identify any wrong spellings. 
      • Remove any long, wordy phrases and replace them with shorter, more concise words. 
      • Perform fact-checking and ensure that names, dates, and other important details are accurate. 
      • Format the text and ensure that the spacing, font, indentation, and page numbers are consistent. You can also use popular book formatting software like Apache and Atticus to format your book. 

Now let’s explore the next step of editing a new book’s first draft! 

6. Get feedback from beta readers 

Following are some important pointers while choosing beta readers for your book: 

• • • • Aim for a mix of readers, including those who are familiar with your genre and those who are not.
      • Consider including both avid readers and casual readers to get a wide range of perspectives.
      • Select a manageable number of beta readers (e.g., 5-10) to ensure you can process and incorporate their feedback effectively.

This is also an important step for how to edit a children’s book! 

Now let’s see the last step of how to edit a book! 

7. Make changes as per the feedback given 

Once you get the feedback, identify the common problems/issues that beta readers have mentioned. Then, make the changes and analyze the changes’ impact on other characters.

Some other pointers while making changes are: 

• • • • Ensure that any changes while editing a novel/ book are consistent throughout the story and align with its overall themes and tone.
      • Keep a record of all changes by maintaining a separate document outlining your revisions. If you’re using Google Docs or Word, you can easily track the changes. 
      • Once you’ve made changes, check the text for any grammatical errors, typos, any inconsistencies in formatting and style. 

How much does it cost to edit a book? 

The cost of editing a book ranges from $0.02 to $0.12 per word. This means that editing an 80,000-word novel could cost anywhere from $1,600 to $9,600. 

However, this cost for editing a book varies widely, depending on factors such as the manuscript length, the type of editing required (e.g., developmental editing, line editing, or copy editing), and the editor’s experience and expertise. 

We hope this article has cleared all doubts about “What does it mean to edit a book?” Readers looking up how to edit a novel online can follow these steps too! 

Once you self-edit your book, the next step is to select self-publishing services like editing. At PaperTrue, we provide expert editing and proofreading services for authors! Our trained editors can easily rectify grammar, punctuation, and spelling errors. With this, our editors also identify problems in the plot, character development, pacing, writing style, and formatting.  

Here are some other useful resources for you: 

• • Quick Guide to Book Editing [Complete Process & Standard Rates]
  • Quick Guide to Novel Editing (with a Self-Editing Checklist)
  • 10 Best Content Editing Tools and Software (Free + Paid)
  • Novel Proofreading | Definition, Significance & Standard Rates

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Priya

Priya has a talent for academic research and enjoys simplifying complex topics. When she's not helping students improve their writing, she can be seen reading poetry, playing the harmonium, or learning classical dance.