Although it’s a small book, Self-Editing for Fiction Writers is a comprehensive reference guide. Browne and King do an excellent job of covering all the bases, and there are chapters on character development, point of view, monologue, dialogue mechanics (an area where I need work), voice, and sophistication. I learned a lot. Who would have thought that using “as” or “-ing” is a bad thing? Or that the use of too many italics or exclamation marks is a no-no?

The hard part, of course, is for the novelist to take these good ideas and use them to improve upon their work. For writers, our words become our creations and thus our babies, and speaking from experience, it is difficult to let go. For example, I tend to write exactly how I speak. My in-person speech is punctuated with descriptors like adverbs (the dreaded “-ly” words) and I tend to write that way as well. For me to edit my work and minimize the adverbs will be difficult. My heart thinks they need to be there, even as my head is telling me to strip them from the book.

My “babies” have taken a unique shape, but there is always room for improvement. I’m not totally deflated, but I now realize that self-editing is yet another necessary layer to writing process. Writers have to edit for their editors. Unfortunately, self-editing will result in a delay of my estimated completion date, but it's necessary if I want my work to look polished and professional.

Self-Editing for Fiction Writers is a fine tutorial, especially for those who cannot or do not have access to writing classes or writing groups.