Before you share your manuscript

Whoever reads your manuscript next, a friend, an editor or a publisher, will see it more clearly if you have already done the jobs only you can do. Here is a short list to work through. It is general, not a rulebook, and every project is different.

Let it rest

If you can, put the draft away for a few weeks. Distance is the cheapest editing tool there is. When you return, you read as a reader rather than as the person who wrote it.

Read it as a whole

• Can you say, in a couple of sentences, what the book is doing and where it ends up?
• Does each section earn its place? Mark anything you would not miss if it were gone.
• Do names, dates, places and small details stay consistent from start to finish?
• Is the opening doing its work, and does the ending land where you intended?

Then the small things

• Choose one spelling convention (for example Australian English) and apply it throughout.
• Check punctuation and formatting habits: how you handle dialogue, italics, scene breaks and numbers.
• Run a spell check last, not first, and still read the text yourself afterwards.

Know what you want from the reader

Tell your next reader what kind of feedback you are after. “Is the structure working?” is a different question from “Is this line clean?” Being clear about it saves both of you time, and it helps you decide whether you need a manuscript assessment, an edit or a final proofread.