Dreading the moment when your manuscript comes back from the editor dripping in red lines?

You can save both of you time and energy with a few basic steps. Sending your work to an editor can be a nerve-wracking experience, but it is possible to make the moment worth celebrating if you have confidence in your writing quality and edit for the most common issues that plague manuscripts. Follow these 10 steps before hitting send and your editor will thank you!

Part One: Start with the Big Picture

• Step One: Consider Point of View


• Step Two: Fix Pesky Dialogue Formatting Stuff

Part Two: Zoom in to Examine the Nitty Gritty

• Step Three: Up Your Verb Game


• Step Four: Use Punctuation as Intended


• Step Five: Track Your Bad Habits

Part Three: Come Over to the Deep End-you'll be fine!

• Step Six: Tweak Your Sentence Structure


• Step Seven: Add Sentence Variety

Part Four: Before You Click "Send"...

• Step Eight: Know What You Want


• Step Nine: Create a Style Sheet


• Step Ten: Just Breathe