by Bethany Jett, @betjett

So far in this series on How to Get an Editor to Say Yes, we’ve covered Part One: Self-Editing Tips and Part Two: Avoiding Tattle-Tale Mode. Our goal is to cover some tips that seem to pop up again and again in submissions…errors that make an editor’s eyes roll back in their head or make them want to snap every pencil on their desk in half. Today we’re going to correct common editing mistakes that are easily avoided and simple to look for.

1. Protect the Little Punctuation

Quotation marks can cause quite a bit of confusion. Which punctuation marks go inside or outside of them? Here’s how I remember this rule: If it’s smaller than a semicolon (like a semi truck) it needs to be protected. Quotation marks hug or shelter the baby punctuation, i.e., periods and commas go inside while the big boys: question marks, semicolons, dashes, and exclamation points can survive outside.

Incorrect: “We’re going to the store”.

Correct: “Can we go to the store?”

Incorrect: Mary said, “John asked ‘Can we go to the store?’.”

Honestly, I would reword the sentence to avoid the punctuation issue! Haha! A better sentence would be:

“John asked me if we could go to the store,” Mary said.

These rules get a lot more in depth. A great resource on the quotation marks and punctuation rules is by Mignon Fogarty, Grammar Girl. Check out her post here.

2. Diversify

Don’t repeat words, especially at the beginning of the sentence. “He said…” “He did…” “He saw…” Bleh. Give your writing some variety! Thesaurus.com is your friend!

Play with synonyms! Don’t use the word cup two or three times in a paragraph. Use mug, thermos, shot glass, pint… When you describe it, you not only obey the rule about specificity discussed in part one of this series, you draw a sharper image in the reader’s mind and aren’t repeating yourself.

Almost anytime you see a noun being repeated, it’s a signal that the sentences can be restructured and strengthened.

3. Secure the Subjects

Another way to avoid duplicate words is to connect sentences that have the same subject.

Example: I was going to Matt’s house. Matt’s house was far away.

Change it: I was going to Matt’s house, forty minutes away.

Even better is to rewrite these passive sentences into a stronger one using inference.

First draft: The book belonged to Mark. Mark’s name was printed on the inside.

Second draft: We knew the book belonged to Mark because his name was printed inside.

Final draft: Why did Mark always inscribe the cover of his books?

What’s funny to me is that the final draft infers that this is a habit of Mark’s!

To demonstrate #2 and #3 in real life, here’s an example from my current work-in-progress (and shameless plug for Through the Eyes of Hope: Love More, Worry Less, and See God in the Midst of Your Adversity which releases early next year).

This is what happens during a first draft—writing to get the words down without worrying too much about the editing process. I’ve colored repeating words in red and bolded the lines that share the subject.

It takes a toll when your child’s future is in the hands of someone else, when you’re constantly searching for answers and coming up short or always finding conflicting information. The team at Shriners decided to work on a plan for Christian. They took their time instead of checking his head for ten seconds or glancing at a CT scan. They were also professional enough to leave their egos at the door. They called in a cleft palate specialist from California—sending him photos and CT scan images. They came up with a plan that would close the soft palate and repair his lip in two surgeries.

The reworked draft looks like this:

The pressure of conflicting information weighs upon your spirit when your child’s future is in someone else’s hands. Constantly searching for answers and coming up short took its toll, but Shriner’s was different. The team took their time instead of running their fingers over Christian’s skull for ten seconds and glancing at an old CT scan. Together with a specialist from California, they devised a plan to close the soft palate and repair his lip in only two surgeries. It’s amazing what happens when egos are checked at the door.

It’s likely that section will look different in the final draft, since I’m already contemplating changing the words “weighs upon,” and showing the pressure the parents were under instead of telling it, but you can see how getting rid of repeating words and combining sentences made a big difference in the readability.

4. Spell this word correctly and you’re winning:

The guest writing in the beginning of a book is called a Foreword, not Forward. You’ll thank me later.

Next week will be our final part in this series, although the self-editing tips could fill volumes of books…and have.

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Bethany Jett is an award-winning author of The Cinderella Rule, speaker, ghostwriter, and founder of JETTsetter Ink, a consulting and editing company. She has written for numerous publications, created the My Moments Planner, Serious Writer Companion, and is the founder of Serious Writer Academy and the Build Your Brand Program.

Bethany is a military wife and all-boys-mama who is addicted to suspense novels and all things girly. She writes on living a brilliant life at BethanyJett.com. Connect with her on Facebook, Pinterest,  Instagram, and Twitter.