Self-Editing Checklist: What to Fix Before You Hire an Editor
By Rachel Smith, Entrada Publishing · Published September 7, 2026
A self-edit pass before you hire a professional means your editor's time (and your money) goes toward problems you genuinely can't see on your own, rather than things a careful read-through would have caught. This isn't a substitute for professional editing; it's what makes professional editing more effective and often less expensive.
This is part of the Complete Guide to Book Editing.
Before You Start
Put the manuscript down for at least a few days, ideally longer, before you self-edit. Distance is what lets you read your own work with something closer to a stranger's eyes. Read the whole thing through once without stopping to fix anything, just to see the shape of it, then go back through with this list.
Structure and Plot
- Does the story (or argument, for nonfiction) have a clear beginning, middle, and end?
- Are there any scenes or chapters that don't move the story forward, and could be cut or shortened?
- Do the major plot points make sense, without relying on coincidence or characters acting only to serve the plot?
- Are subplots resolved, or intentionally left open?
- Does the ending deliver on what the opening promised?
Pacing
- Are there stretches that drag, where nothing meaningfully happens?
- Does the pace pick up appropriately as the story builds toward its climax?
- Are transitions between scenes and chapters clear, without abrupt or confusing jumps?
Characters
- Is each major character's motivation clear?
- Do characters behave consistently, or is there a moment where someone acts out of character with no explanation?
- Are secondary characters distinct from one another, not just variations on the same voice?
- Does the protagonist change or learn something by the end, if that's the kind of story you're telling?
Dialogue
- Does dialogue sound like how people actually talk, adjusted for your setting and characters?
- Is dialogue doing double duty (revealing character, advancing plot) rather than existing purely to convey information?
- Are dialogue tags and attribution clear, so readers always know who's speaking?
Setting and Worldbuilding
- Can you picture where each scene takes place?
- Are worldbuilding or setting details introduced when the reader needs them, not all at once?
- Have you checked for consistency: character ages, timelines, geography, names, and invented terms?
Line-Level Issues
- Read sections aloud. Awkward phrasing is often easier to hear than to see.
- Look for repeated words or phrases, especially ones you tend to overuse.
- Check for filter words ("she noticed," "he felt," "I saw") that distance the reader from the action.
- Cut unnecessary adverbs and filler phrases where a stronger verb or clearer sentence would do the job.
- Vary sentence length and structure so the prose doesn't fall into a repetitive rhythm.
Consistency and Technical Checks
- Character names, spellings, and physical descriptions are consistent throughout
- Timeline and character ages add up
- Formatting (chapter breaks, scene breaks, dialogue punctuation) is consistent
- Run a spelling and grammar check, understanding that it won't catch everything
What Self-Editing Can't Replace
A self-edit catches what you can see. It won't catch what you're too close to notice, patterns you don't realize you're repeating, structural problems that feel invisible because you already know how the story resolves, or blind spots in your own writing habits. That's exactly what beta readers and professional editors are for. See the Complete Guide to Beta Reading and How to Choose a Book Editor.
A Reasonable Order
- Read through once without editing
- Do a structural pass (plot, pacing, character) using the checklist above
- Do a line-level pass
- Run a spelling and grammar check
- Send it to beta readers
- Revise based on their feedback
- Then, and only then, hire a professional editor
Ready for a Professional Pass?
Once you've done what you can on your own, Entrada Publishing's editing team can take it from there: developmental editing, line editing, copyediting, and proofreading.
See Our Editing Services →
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