6 Tips on Proofreading For Your Novel

My name is XYZ and you may remember me from the post 7 cons of having writer friends (one of those “cons” is having me here today).

My novel Burned your angel wings has just gone on sale , which you can purchase on websites such as Amazon , Ediciones Babylon or other platforms (the publisher that has taken charge of it). And that is why I agreed with my friend Jaume to write this post to tell you about one of the worst ghosts of the writer: correction.

I have recognized on many occasions that the most difficult task in creating you burned your angel wings was correction. That is why I wanted to write a post with some tips that have helped me to correct my novel (and, I hope, they will help you to work on yours).

The Cake Must Be Allowed To Rest

And your novel too. Once you finish the writing process, you must let the material rest in a drawer (or in a folder on your computer). The time it must rest depends a lot on each one. Some say a month, some three months, others six…

The perfect time to resume activity is when you start reading your novel and you have the feeling that someone else has written it.

Fast Reading

It is interesting that this first reading is not from the word processor itself. If possible, I would recommend converting the document to a non-editable format (pdf, MOBI, ePub) and do a quick first reading, without stopping or entertaining yourself.

In this first reading we will seek that the argument is coherent, that the scenes are functional, that there is the necessary background information, etc. Basically, we will seek to find out what is wrong in the novel (and how we can fix it). We will take note of these errors and take them to the next point.

Rewriting

In this step we will take the note that we have prepared in the previous point and we will proceed to correct the errors that we have found in the first reading of the novel. In this step you also have to perform one of the essential tasks: cut. You have to eliminate everything that is left over (because there are always things left over). Remember: the good, if it is brief, twice as good.

Second Lecture

After the rewriting process, we will give our novel a short rest (one week maximum) and we will read it again. We will continue looking for the errors that we were looking for in the previous reading, but since many will already be eliminated we will be able to pay more attention to the details.

In this second reading we will proceed to eliminate errors in the details: that the locations are correct, that the characters are not renamed during the novel, ghost writing etc.

Do You Have A Beta Reader?

Now would be the time to have someone capable of taking your colors out after reading the novel. A beta reader should not only read the novel, he should be able to gut you if it comes to the case (that doesn’t mean he should be cruel and ruthless. The beta reader should be fair).

Think that the beta reader is right: if your novel is riddled with errors, it is full of errors.

It Is Done?

In the beginning, yes. However, my recommendation is that your novel go through another correction process. In my case, Burned your angel wings passed through the hands of the publisher’s proofreader and she was able to get several errors out of me that, for one reason or another, had remained.

With the help of a proofreader, you can make your novel shine.

That does not mean that there is an error. You already know that even in the best editions there are, sometimes, some error than another. The correction work only seeks – as an objective – that the reader enjoy a pleasant reading with the minimum possible errors (being its goal 0% of errors).

Sharpen your red pencil and… let’s correct it!