I read a lot, for both work and pleasure. When I read for work, my eyes scan every line, sentence, paragraph, page, chapter, and full manuscript for different criteria. I check spelling, grammar, punctuation, style, voice, tense, pacing, continuity, plot, narrative arc, tension, climax, resolution, and other less definable qualities such as honesty, heart, and whether the work might bring something new and necessary into the world. Writing is a hard job, and so is editing. As a writer you may not have enough energy or skill to do the work of a professional editor, but fear not; here are five simple steps that will make your manuscript better and allow your editor to focus on the bigger picture of the story. Check for passive voice. This is easier than you think especially if you are using Microsoft Word. In the Word options you can choose proofing for grammar alone, or grammar & style. Open these settings and discover a hidden treasure trove of options Word can automatically check. If you are not using Microsoft Word you can check for passive voice using the zombie rule. If you can insert by zombies after the verb, you have passive voice. The writer, who continued to use passive voice, even when her editor told her not to, was eaten (by zombies). — makes sense = passive voice Zombies ate (by zombies) the writer who was known for her excessive use of passive voice.–does not make sense = active voice Check for extra…

Many aspiring authors think they can’t afford to hire an editor. If your plan is to publish, then the truth is you can’t afford NOT to hire one. Anyone can call themselves an “editor,” yet not all editors are the same. There is no test or certification process. Be choosy when you hire one. Instead of looking for the cheapest rate, look for editors with experience and a proven track record and figure out how you can reduce your costs by doing as much self-editing as possible. While inexpensive, the retired English teacher down the street is not a professional editor. Proofreaders are not editors. They check for typographical errors, missing words, formatting glitches. You will want to use a proofreader, but only when you have “proofs” ready to go to press. After you have a contract. After your publisher has approved your final version. After it’s gone to typesetting and layout. Don’t waste your money on a proofreader on your early drafts unless you’re too lazy to learn grammar, spelling, and punctuation. And if you haven’t mastered the mechanics of the English language, then perhaps you have some work to do before your writing will be published. Imagine if Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers had hired someone to run laps, practice yoga, and do push-ups for him. I mean, all that really matters is if the quarterback knows the right call to play, right? If you want to play in the big leagues, then you need you…

As an editor, I see the use of passive voice as a red flag in a manuscript. It strips out all the action and agency. Makes the text boring. Passive voice frequently appears in academic writing. The stuff no one wants to read. You can edit your own book manuscript for passive voice and hone your talents as a powerful writer with a few simple reminders. So let me help you understand passive voice and then how you can get rid of it in your writing. “The boy was hit by the bus.” PASSIVE SENTENCE. The boy is the subject of this sentence. He is the passive recipient of action. Note the use of the helping verb “was” flags the passive verb construction of “hit.” Passive voice masks the action and the agency. The responsible party for the vehicular accident ends up an object in the sentence instead of an actor. “The bus hit the boy.” This is an ACTIVE sentence construction. Subject-verb-object. Who did what to whom? The subject is the bus. The bus commits the action upon the object, the boy. The readers’ sympathies still lie with the boy, often intended by the writer of a passively constructed sentence. The action and agency, however, are front and center. The reader can see the bus crash into a boy more easily with the active verb of “hit.” Responsibility for the action is clear. Passive voice is all too common in everyday speech and finds its way into our writing.…