Read Your Writing From an Editor’s Perspective

Even for seasoned writers looking for self publishing their book, reviewing their work through the eyes of an editor may be difficult. But, on the other hand, it’s easy to get caught up in the art of wordplay and narrative, colorful metaphors and strong pictures while you’re writing, and it may feel great when that focused creativity takes off.

But what happens once you’ve molded your storey or finished your draft? How do you take a step back, move away from the craftsperson’s perspective, and objectively assess your work?

Here are some tips to help you look at your writing with new eyes before you indulge in book publishing.

Switch Your Focus to a Different Activity

Irrespective of whether you are writing a creative book or editorial, there comes the point where you feel exhausted. In such situations stepping away for a bit to focus on something else will let you bounce back and refocus on the writing.

This is because shifting your focus to other activities that include running an errand, laundry, trekking, or anything can lead to a clear mind and fresh eyes when you continue your work. In addition, switching your focus on non-writing activities will give you a clear headspace needed to return to your writing work with a new perspective.

In Read Something Unrelated to Your Writing Niche

Once you feel you have spent more time on your writing and are drained out of thoughts or ideas, read newspapers, magazines or whatever is new on social media like Facebook, Twitter etc., so that you can get a mental change of pace. Know that reading anything unrelated to your work removes your mind off the main topic and allows you to see things in a new light.

Try Using a Different Typeface – Book Publishing

This may sound irrelevant but has proved to be the best of tried strategy. Writers have felt that reading their work in a clear font like Calibri has made them see things differently from fonts like Bahnschrift. You would be astonished to witness how different your writing seems to be when represented in a different font. Cycling through several fonts can sometimes help you see the writing with fresh eyes.

Use Different Devices

Reading experience in a phone vs. laptop vs. tablet vs. printed copy can enable you to see new things in each context. For example, some writers feel reading a printed copy on your iPhone let you more easily imagine yourself as the final reader of the published article.

Change of Atmosphere

Sometimes the busy and noisy coffee shop is just what is needed to see your work from a new perspective. Some authors, on the other hand, enjoy the serenity of a park seat. Changing your location might provide you with the editorial distance you need to examine your work in a new light.

In Take Time to Send Your Manuscript – Book Publishing

After finishing the final draft of any work, never send it out for book publishing until the following day. Then, go through it again first thing in the morning, with coffee and fresh eyes, to see if any adjustments need to be made. This has proven to be a helpful strategy.

Read it aloud

Reading your writing aloud to yourself opens your eyes to new possibilities, and having a collaborator read it to you may be as enlightening. You never know what words or phrases your reading partner may stress or how their recitation can let you see aspects of your work that you hadn’t seen before.

Wrapping Up – Book Publishing

The more complex the piece of writing, the more times you’ll have to go over it and the more different strategies you’ll employ to give it a second look. Often, you won’t feel like a piece of writing is genuinely the best it can be until you’ve revisited it with new eyes and examined it in various situations.

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