When re-drafting, print the m/s and read it on the page. Write your corrections in coloured pen so they are easy to spot, and tick them once you’ve made the correction. I date things too, but that’s just my journalistic background showing. Once I’ve corrected everything on a page, I draw a line across it.
And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
Writers’ BLOCKbusters: read on the page http://wp.me/p5gEM4-1uo #writingtips via @SandraDanby
Sandra, I’d love to learn more about this process if you’re willing to share. Do you check every word of the draft against your submitted copy?
I guess you’d have to. Did you find lots of errors? The red pen and tick-off strategy sounds effective.
Yes, Shari, every word, with multiple re-reads. This is my proofreading process, any re-writing and re-structuring will already have been done. The m/s is also read by my writing group and one other reader, as fresh eyes always see something I don’t – I then make the corrections on my master file.
When I am happy the manuscript is polished, I then send it to my professional copy-editor at Fiction Feedback for another copy-edit. Click here to read more about that process http://wp.me/p5gEM4-12P
SD