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EDITING The RedPen Way: 10 steps to successful self-editing
Love writing but hate editing? Suffering from editing overwhelm? Tired of rejection slips and wondering how to improve your writing? You need RedPen Editing! In this book, Anne Rainbow explains her tried and tested approach to self-editing. Anne's objective was - and still is - to help budding writers to learn how to edit their own words, and therefore to maximise their chances of having their stories and novels accepted for publication. With her simple three-task system, Anne shows how EDITING The RedPen Way can become a SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely) route to a polished manuscript. And, she makes it sound fun!
- GenresWritingNonfiction
66 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 5, 2016
48 people are currently reading
76 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
April 9, 2019
Anne's 10 step editing process is very useful. The book is brief and packed with useful information.
January 25, 2017
I once thought I was decent at finding errors when reading stuff I have written, but this short book opened up a whole new world of improvements and ways to launch my manuscripts farther than I could have taken them before. I'm almost excited to start going over my current work in progress to see what areas I can improve. Lots of great information packed on every page!
May 9, 2021
This short book on editing is currently available on Kindle Unlimited. It’s very basic but nevertheless a good primer for the disciplines of editing. It’s definitely one to revisit before an editing session to get in the right frame of mind and progress methodically.
Essentially the method involves going from high level into the details before considering house styles for submissions. To start off, it’s all about general decisions: does the story come through clearly? Are basic decisions correct, i.e. are the characters appropriate for the story, are the POVs right, is the pacing correct, is there an appropriate structure? Only once these wider issues are addressed does story-editing switch to line by line editing and then into proofreading. All these stages have their proper place and the author explains clearly why tasks should be approached in this order.
Although there is nothing new in the individual tasks, the author’s methodological approach is enlightening. This is a good little resource.
Essentially the method involves going from high level into the details before considering house styles for submissions. To start off, it’s all about general decisions: does the story come through clearly? Are basic decisions correct, i.e. are the characters appropriate for the story, are the POVs right, is the pacing correct, is there an appropriate structure? Only once these wider issues are addressed does story-editing switch to line by line editing and then into proofreading. All these stages have their proper place and the author explains clearly why tasks should be approached in this order.
Although there is nothing new in the individual tasks, the author’s methodological approach is enlightening. This is a good little resource.
May 5, 2018
Anne is the RedPen Way & she’s great
Anne that is a excellent book for me as a Indie writer.
Great tips and excellent classroom skills to enjoy and apply to my own self publishing journeys.
You can’t go wrong here.
She also tells you the tricks and trades of writing in Scrivener. I write in Scrivener for windows and am anxiously awaiting for windows 3 edition of Scrivener to come out.
Anne offers continuous training and updates on most any writing situation. She’s available to you in various applications, so there’s no excuses not to follow her and her training.
I highly recommend her.
Thank you Anne
Anne that is a excellent book for me as a Indie writer.
Great tips and excellent classroom skills to enjoy and apply to my own self publishing journeys.
You can’t go wrong here.
She also tells you the tricks and trades of writing in Scrivener. I write in Scrivener for windows and am anxiously awaiting for windows 3 edition of Scrivener to come out.
Anne offers continuous training and updates on most any writing situation. She’s available to you in various applications, so there’s no excuses not to follow her and her training.
I highly recommend her.
Thank you Anne
February 13, 2017
Editing the RedPen Way
This is the most concisely written book about self-editing I've ever encountered. The steps are simple and easy to follow, getting you up and editing your work quickly and accurately. Now if only more of the self publishing authors would read this and start using the method, there would be fewer one star reviews bashing authors about spelling and grammatical errors. This book was well worth the price.
This is the most concisely written book about self-editing I've ever encountered. The steps are simple and easy to follow, getting you up and editing your work quickly and accurately. Now if only more of the self publishing authors would read this and start using the method, there would be fewer one star reviews bashing authors about spelling and grammatical errors. This book was well worth the price.
October 14, 2021
Quick read, lots of good information
I have written about half a dozen first drafts, but always got stuck in the editing. The RedPen editing system has everything spelled out in a logical order. The book is a quick read, but chock-full of information. I have my first manuscript well into step 8 of editing the RedPen way now, and I'm eyeing my earlier works.
I appreciate the books brevity, but I would have appreciated some more examples for each step.
I have written about half a dozen first drafts, but always got stuck in the editing. The RedPen editing system has everything spelled out in a logical order. The book is a quick read, but chock-full of information. I have my first manuscript well into step 8 of editing the RedPen way now, and I'm eyeing my earlier works.
I appreciate the books brevity, but I would have appreciated some more examples for each step.
December 28, 2021
Some good advice, but on the basic side. She recommends a ten-step process and has a list of questions at the end of each step. I found the questions tedious, so I’m not sure how useful this approach is. She seems to assume you have your book meticulously planned out which is awkward for pantsers. Her questions can make you aware of what each step SHOULD address, but there isn’t much info on how to find and fix the issues. Only 66 pages.
March 17, 2018
A rare thing, a useful and accessible book that shows you how to edit your writing.
This book doesn't tell you how to write, it shows you how to edit. It can be read in less than an hour, but can lead you through weeks of productive enhancement of your work. I've tried The Red Pen way, and my work is better for it. A great resource for writers.
This book doesn't tell you how to write, it shows you how to edit. It can be read in less than an hour, but can lead you through weeks of productive enhancement of your work. I've tried The Red Pen way, and my work is better for it. A great resource for writers.
August 19, 2020
Quite basic. I was expecting some more detailed self-editing insights, not broad advice like "Find your voice" or "Check
if your tense is suitable to your plot".
I give 4 stars because the end of each chapter have some useful questions to ask yourself, but I doubt someone will really be able to do a proper seld-editing just by reading this book.
if your tense is suitable to your plot".
I give 4 stars because the end of each chapter have some useful questions to ask yourself, but I doubt someone will really be able to do a proper seld-editing just by reading this book.
June 23, 2017
Very helpful to compartmentalize the self editing process. I will use these tips for my own editing process.
April 21, 2018
Interesting techniques. Some I think I can use, some not so much.
July 18, 2017
Very comprehensive, a definite must for anyone wanting to write!
March 11, 2017
A lot of basics but starting to become outdated
This book is a great review for grammar, but many examples she uses has the sh/c/woulds, which is becoming a big thing publishers don't want to see any more. Other than a few outdated pieces, the majority of it will definitely improve the skills of anyone looking to become a sharper editor!
This book is a great review for grammar, but many examples she uses has the sh/c/woulds, which is becoming a big thing publishers don't want to see any more. Other than a few outdated pieces, the majority of it will definitely improve the skills of anyone looking to become a sharper editor!
October 5, 2016
A really useful book for authors who chose to edit their own book. Anne offers a very detailed and systematic approach to editing your book, including for pulling yourself out from the "create" mode.
October 22, 2016
Great editing checklist
This is a great editing checklist for those who have finished their first manuscript. There are tips here that would also prove useful for writing in general.
This is a great editing checklist for those who have finished their first manuscript. There are tips here that would also prove useful for writing in general.
December 28, 2016
Read once, but kept out in order to refer to it every time I'm editing. Highly recommended.
February 1, 2017
Clear, easy to follow and useful.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews