The Power of Self-Editing: Transforming Your Draft into a Masterpiece with Amie McCracken

The Ingenium Books Podcast: Author. Publisher. Changemaker.

So, you've written the first draft of your book? Yay! Congratulations! But...does that mean it's ready to go to your editor? Does that mean it's ready for publishing?
NO!
On this episode we're talking about your first round of self-editing, and we're going to lay out a process and an approach to help you get from here to there. I'm with Amie McCracken for this conversation. Amie is a publishing director, author, editor, typesetter, and proofreader.
"Break down the daunting editing process into manageable steps to truly celebrate your progress and quantify how much further you need to go." —Amie McCracken

In this episode, you will be able to:

• Break down complex layers of novel revision, learning processes for self-editing your manuscript.
• Learn the essence of structural editing, gaining insights into its role in maintaining the coherence and consistency of a story.
• Understand how to differentiate between scenes and chapters.
• Discover practical self-editing tools
• Master the art of setting achievable deadlines, understanding the significance of time management in the self-editing process.

The key moments in this episode are:
00:00:00 - Celebrating the First Draft
00:03:06 - The Reverse Outline
00:08:21 - Structural Analysis of Chapters
00:12:26 - Questions to Ask About Scenes
00:15:23 - Scenes vs. Chapters
00:17:55 - The Importance of Editing and Drafting Separately
00:19:23 - Self-Editing Before Seeking Professional Help
00:20:56 - Consistency and Smoothing
00:25:42 - The Final Polishing Stage
00:27:49 - Setting Deadlines and Stopping Editing
The resources mentioned in this episode are:

• Check out Amie McCracken's website https://www.amiemccracken.com/ to see her credentials as an author, editor, typesetter, and proofreader.
• Listen to more episodes of The Ingenium Books Podcast for valuable insights and tips on writing, editing, and publishing.
• Reflect on the importance of identifying your why before starting to write your book and the potential problems that can arise if you skip this step.
• Take the time to celebrate and congratulate yourself on completing the first draft of your book, as it is a significant accomplishment.
• Understand that even though you have finished your first draft, it is not necessarily yet ready for publishing or sending to an editor.
• Embrace the process of self-editing and learn about the steps involved in refining your manuscript.

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