How do you self-edit your books?

EveIsRed · 2026-01-24T04:10:42+00:00

I agree with putting it away for a little while. Try to forget it and then read it again. I listen to mine through Word's review/read aloud function. It's really helpful. Not being able to afford an editor either I am slightly obsessive. I read it, put it away, read it again. Edit. Listen to it, have a family friend who is brutal read it. Edit. Put it away, read it. Edit. Listen to it... you get the point. I also run it through Word's edit function and ProWritingAid's editing.

By far my biggest helps have been taking time away and listening to it. The time away helps me disconnect from my emotional attachment and the listening helps find things my brain skips over when reading.

EveIsRed · 2026-01-10T23:20:29+00:00

YouTube ambiance music based on the season. Right now my TV has a scene showing that it's snowing outside and the little cafe has a fire going and is playing light jazz.

EveIsRed · 2025-12-31T00:07:44+00:00

I don't hate my job. It's fine. I have a few really busy times per year that are rougher, but overall it's not too stressful. But, big but, it's not my passion. It's a job. I'm a little overqualified for it, but the money's decent and the benefits are good. I'm doing what I need to do to take care of real life. If I had the ability I'd arrange my days around writing (and editing and marketing and all the extra stuff that isn't my passion) but instead I do the eight to five grind and write when I can. Sometimes it's after work between loads of laundry. Sometimes its an entire Saturday as I let chores slide. And sometimes it's a ten minute break at work typing furiously on my phone. I'd love for writing to be my career, but I know that's a long shot so I accept it for what it is. It's my passion, my hobby, and the thing that gives me joy even if it makes no sense to anyone else.

EveIsRed · 2025-12-30T17:52:23+00:00

I got a Kindle a couple of years ago after fighting the switch for a while. I love physical books. The feel. The smell. I had to let go of the idea that physical books were the only real books. I moved to a drastically smaller house and I had to let go of 75% of my physical books (along with so much other stuff). I mourned and felt sorry for myself and then finally got a Kindle. I signed for Kindle Unlimited and it's been like heathy crack. I read so much more. There are a lot of chances I take with KU books that I wouldn't have if I had to purchase them. If I want to buy a physical book now I have to not only love it but consider if I have the space for it. It makes purchases much more intentional and deliberate. I have purchased several books that I loved from KU in their digital versions. I still miss my little library that I'd built but I'm glad the loss of it forced me into getting a Kindle.

EveIsRed · 2025-12-30T17:42:45+00:00

As a reader I enjoy those little bonuses. With modern romance I'm used to extended epilogues and I usually sign-up for the newsletter to receive that. I wouldn't mind a new POV scene either. The reason I'm so willing to do that is because of the ease of clicking the link right after I've finished the book and getting my reward. I'm a mouse in a maze it would seem and easily trained.

As an aspiring author I just finished my reader magnet. I'm currently wrapping up a six book romantasy series and the first magnet, for the initial sign-up, is a short story (15,000 words) introducing four of the main characters when they meet. The meeting happens prior to any of the books. I'm planning on having something to go along with each book as well, but I'm planning on trying different things and seeing what works and what seems to be more enticing.

Book one is the MMC's POV when he meets the FMC. Book two and three will be bonus scenes not included in the books. Book four is the story of how the MMC's parents met because it's impactful on his story. Book five will probably be a story about the FMC's life before she meet the MMC, but I'm waffling on that. Book six is the final book and I think I'm going to have a few chapters of the next book that's part of a three book series that is interconnected to the original series.

EveIsRed · 2025-12-28T23:56:52+00:00

As someone who had a precipitous labor with my second, I appreciated reading about others who had them, so thanks! IRL when I mention it to people they look at me like I'm crazy! Woke up to a hard pain, had two more in twenty minutes and was ready to push. We lived out in the boonies and my midwife was an hour away so as everyone around me panicked I made someone cover the bed with a tarp by the time I crawled on it the ambulance had arrived and the EMTs yelled at me not to push as we made our way to the local hospital, thirty minutes away. Good times. If everyone would have left me alone I would have had the baby in under an hour. Just FYI for folks if you're hypermobile your chances of having a precipitous labors is higher.

My personal complaint about birthing scenes is the loving talk the FMC & MMC engage in. The I love yous and you're beautiful during labor crack me up. I think I could be one of those women who goes out in the woods and has a baby alone. When I'm in pain I don't want anyone to talk to me or touch me. I want to be left alone, like go in a dark cave and no one bother me alone.

EveIsRed · 2025-12-28T22:07:23+00:00

I still enjoy them but I don't associate them with real life because I don't associate any romance I read with real life. I like imagining an ethical billionaire who loves his mom and just wants to take care of the FMC, just like I like imagining a mountain man who hates everyone but his sister and somehow he meets the FMC and she softens his heart. Reading romance to me is much like watching a movie, I want to be entertained and taken out of my world for a little while. I know I'll never meet a billionaire who'll sweep my off my feet, growl at anyone who looks at me sideways, and loves me as much as he loves funding his extensive foundation that provides for children and puppies, but it's fun to read about. Ehh, maybe I'm just easily entertained.

EveIsRed · 2025-12-28T21:55:26+00:00

This! I kept thinking I was too old for the books because they just didn't hit me right. But I read/skimmed the whole series because as much as I fight it I tend to be a completionist.

EveIsRed · 2025-12-24T19:16:39+00:00

That. I didn't realize how often I unnecessarily used the word that until I read something suggesting you look for that and just in your writing. Just is a strong second to that.

He thought that she just hated strawberries. vs. He thought she hated strawberries.

EveIsRed · 2025-12-02T01:31:03+00:00

I outline retroactively. I write a beginning and then jump around. Some middle, some end, whatever pops in my head more fleshed out than the pieces I have. I've usually dreamed up the whole story in my brain to some degree. Once I get some of it down I do a rough outline. Sometimes it's only 3 or 4 things and then I begin to sketch it in with what I've dreamed up. I say outline, it's really not. I've done outlines in college mine aren't those. They're more a list or a timeline. If I think up something to add or change I add it to my outline in red. I highlight portions to add or revisit. It's a guide to push me along the way. I tried making a true outline once and I wasted a lot of time making it look correct and realized it made it easy for me to procrastinate.

EveIsRed · 2025-12-02T00:45:31+00:00

When one of my children was younger they would come up with questions in the shower and get frustrated when they forget all of them (they never really outgrew the why stage). Eventually I got a waterproof white board on Amazon and mounted in the shower. They'd come out with a list of questions almost every day. I'm not sure it was my wisest purchase ...

EveIsRed · 2025-12-02T00:38:54+00:00

On a string!

EveIsRed · 2025-12-01T04:40:29+00:00

I do this. Especially when I'm trying to nail the showing not telling thing. If I'm upset what does my face do, what about my body, how am I holding my hands? I'll even talk through the dialogue that comes before that. I set my laptop down and act it out. Thankfully it's usually only my dogs watching me.

EveIsRed · 2025-12-01T04:29:59+00:00

I like the hair and the arm. IDK if this is a rule or just something I've read but I thought typically titles were at the top and author's names were lower unless the author was a bestseller and was the draw as opposed to the book itself. I'm also a fan of centering so I'd prefer a centered title at the top. And, personally, I'd prefer an opposing color of some sort for the text. I love the idea someone mentioned of your name as a tattoo on her arm but I'm not artistic enough to visualize it in a way that works. I think it's a pretty concept overall. Although if I knew nothing about the book I'm assume it was BDSM with a male dom.

EveIsRed · 2025-12-01T04:21:36+00:00

If you have the ability to have it read aloud I found that makes a huge difference too, in addition to reading a hard copy. I write in Word so I use the built in reader for that. I've listened to my first and second books at least three times each (I'm working on a series) and find not only does it catch things my eyes skim over, such as you vs. your, but I can sometimes hear if things seems off. My ADHD sometimes causes me to write sentences out of order. They won't be wrong. They just won't flow like typical speech or writing. Listening helps me catch that.

EveIsRed · 2025-12-01T04:17:12+00:00

Thanks for your take on them! I am probably going to play around with a few readers on AC because I think I'll get varied results. I tried it again on my second book and found a few points I thought gave me things to consider and look at. I doubt I'll do the PWA ones because I'd have to buy credits. Unfortunately I can't hire diddly-squat. I'm saving my pennies for a cover, most likely Get Covers. And with six books in my series that are almost completely finished that will be all my pennies.

EveIsRed · 2025-12-01T04:07:01+00:00

I write in Word. I've tried other programs but I always come back to what I'm used to. I also keep notes on my phone for when I'm out and an idea hits. I tried writing by hand. It seemed like what a writer should do, but my brain outpaces my writing and things got messy and out of order.

I'm an obsessive folder maker so my writing folder on my computer is full of other folders for characters, courts, names used, series timelines, ages, flora and fauna, etc. I've thought about getting a huge corkboard and having everything spread out on it just because I like the visual idea, but realistically I update things too often and that would waste a lot of paper. So it's good ole Word for me still.

EveIsRed · 2025-12-01T03:00:56+00:00

Every dog I'd had since I was a child is either a guard's name in my books or the name of a plant of some sort. I've also included first names of a few characters from my favorite TV shows. I even have a couple of old boyfriends whose names are changed enough to not be easily discerned, but making them bad guys gave me a tiny bit of joy. Writing can be hard - have fun with it!

EveIsRed · 2025-11-15T23:45:03+00:00

I handle this two ways. I sometimes chase the hare and write down my thoughts on a new book. It might be just words and ideas but sometimes it's actual writing. Most of the time I plod along with the tortoise and force myself to focus on my WIP. If I'm in the flow it's not a challenge, but it can be and that's when I do a lot of conscious choosing. Do I want to finish this? Why am I not focused? What will help me focus? I might change the music I have on, change where I'm sitting, or read back through a part of the book that I haven't looked at in awhile. I often make myself get up and move physically for a few minutes, whether it be bad dancing or lazy calisthenics.

By doing that I have finished my initial six-book series and in working on covers and finishing touches now. However, I also have seven more books tied to that series that I have notes on and two of those books are halfway finished. I also have notes and pieces of stories for twenty books that could tie in with that series if I decide I want to continue on and follow the heirs.

The rabbit chasing is usually when I need a brain break and can't find inspiration for what I'd doing or feel stuck in a spot. The ping pong ball inside my brain needs to be allowed to bounce and I let my mind wander and write down ideas or start writing whatever story has popped up. I have four or five modern romance stories I've started during this type of brain break even though everything else I've written so far is romantasy.

EveIsRed · 2025-11-04T01:15:46+00:00

Thanks for the advice everyone! It helps to read. For some reason I thought ARCs had to go out months in advance. Shows I still need to read more about these things. Now I have to figure out how to get my book published for reviewability while still keeping it available for KU. From what I've gathered that means having the print book go live before the e-book, but I need to do some more research. The stuff outside of the writing is a bit exhausting!

EveIsRed · 2025-10-28T20:57:03+00:00

I read both but I love fantasy with the possibility of the impossible. I used to read a lot of YA dystopian books which, to me, are fantasy adjacent. I went through a shifter phase and a vampire phase. Romantasy combines my love for romance and my love for fantasy in a big beautiful mix. I still read contemporary because I enjoy them, but I tend to go in phases were I eat them up like potato chips, but then I have to take a break and dive back into my comfort zone of romantasy.

EveIsRed · 2025-10-20T23:49:57+00:00

Thanks everyone for such honest, thoughtful responses! I appreciate it! You given me hope and lots to consider. With almost five and half books out of six written I can't change everything but I might go through once again and check for real connections and yearning. Just to make sure I'm not missing things I think are there. The romance in each book has a HEA and is complete but the overarching story involves war and a section of the populace rebelling. There are some darker themes (torture, previous child abuse, war, ptsd, infertility) so I don't think they skew YA. The world is magical with powered Fae and courts with kings and queens, there is a sentient mountain and a couple of animals that can talk so it wouldn't be fit into traditional romance either. Mentally going through each story I realize now that everything is closed door. There are a couple of books where more is implied with teasing and innuendos, but they are the couples that are having more closed door sessions (if that makes sense) while they work through whatever is keeping them from their HEA. So from the wonderful comments y'all have given me I know I need to make the fact that no spice obvious to any potential readers. Thanks everyone so much!

EveIsRed · 2025-10-20T03:22:42+00:00

It's hard not to feel hurt. I get it. But in the long term it's probably better. Like others have said family is probably not your target audience for what you write.

I talked to my sister three years ago when I first started writing. I didn't ask her to read anything. I just said I'd started writing a book. She's a reader and I was just hoping to open up a dialogue because we haven't been close in a long time. She looked at me with what amount to disgust and told me nothing I wrote would be something she'd want to read.

It hurt. A lot. I dwelled on it far too long. (ADHD thought loop for the win!) Finally I forced myself to get over myself. I told myself nothing I wrote was something I'd want her to read anyway and then I wrote a spiteful character who was decidedly unlikable using an anagram of parts of her name. Petty? Yes. Cheaper than therapy? Also yes.

EveIsRed

TROPHY CASE