How to Know when to Stop Editing Your Work and Move On

Editing is part and parcel of the writing process. You write, re-read, edit, re-read again. This is a cycle you can quickly get stuck in, especially if you are a perfectionist as most writers are. The truth is, there is always something that could be tweaked or changed in any piece of writing, no matter how brilliant it is. The trick is knowing when enough is enough and moving on to the next piece. As a standard, using the three re-read technique should be enough to ensure you have caught all the mistakes and made your work the best it can possibly be.

On a first re-read, the thing most writers catch are spelling and grammatical errors. Obviously, nothing should be sent to a publisher when there are spelling mistakes and excessive commas. This is one of the more important aspects of the editing process and should be done very carefully.

When you are sure you have caught all of the typos, re-read again and ensure that the flow of the words read smoothly. Again, this is something that cannot be bypassed if you are hoping to get published. Extra long sentences should be broken down or removed and overused words should be changed with the help of a thesaurus.

Now take a break. Step away from the computer and do something else for a while. Your mind will be refreshed and you can do a third re-read without having the previous words still swimming around in your head. At this point, you should be satisfied. However, if you still feel that there are changes that need to be made, make them but don't re-read it again. By the time you reach this stage you will begin to get sick of it and quite possibly begin to question your talent. This happens often when a writer gets frustrated and often results in flared tempers and even less work is completed.

Never re-read any chapter/scene more than three times during a first edit because it starts to become counter-productive and you can end up weakening a chapter that was once strong. Undoubtedly, you will need to read the entire piece all over again when you have completed it and at that point you must be a little more brutal with things which need to be cut or changed. Ultimately though, you can't go wrong with the three re-read rule on any project. If you are still in doubt, it never hurts to ask for a second opinion.