G'morning.

The Unique Enterprises authors share tips today about the importance of revising.

Dayne Gearner

1. Clarify any unclear thoughts.

2. Explain incomplete events.

3. Edit obtuse statements.

4. Check spelling/grammar

5. Make sure I "sold" the story.

Muncy Chapman

Revise to be concise.

Make sure your historical data is correct. For example, don’t have a character using something that hasn’t been invented yet.

Avoid head-hopping. Stay in the same point of view, and when you must change, be sure you make it clear that you are changing.

Avoid repetition.

Use "action" verbs, as in show-vs.-tell.

Meg Allison

1. The top reason to revise is so you produce a well-written, engaging story.

2. You should revise to make sure your characters are actually doing something besides talking.

3. You need to revise so that your editor won’t send you cyber hate mail OR wind up pulling all his/her hair out. Bald editors tend to be cranky.

4. Revising is essential so you can ensure your characters have the same color hair and eyes throughout the entire story. That can be very distracting to the reader.

5. You should revise in order to catch any other gaffes you might have made so your readers won’t ‘throw the book against the wall’. E-books can make quite a dent.

JoAnn Carter

If you don’t have the proper punctuation, your sentences will read differently then you’ve intended.

If you repeat words over and over, the story will lose its strength.

If you are unable to draw the reader in through the setting, they are benchwarmers not participants in your book.

It’s important to maintain a consistent POV through each scene so… your reader is not head hopping.

Finally, spelling errors make you look bad.

1) To catch all the boneheaded "extra words" I’ve put in when I’ve done my first draft revision.

2) To make sure I haven’t sent the couple into a restaurant and have him paying the check before they’ve ordered (yes, I’ve actually written this).

3) To correct the misspellings Word’s spell checker won’t show me—and believe me, there are a swackload of these!

4) To ensure I haven’t called her Gina on page one and Giselle on page 5 (I’ve done this, too).

5) To give my readers the very best I can offer. No revision checklist is too much of a challenge if it makes my book better.

Laura Hamby

1. Your editor shouldn't have to rewrite your book... Most editors WON'T rewrite your book.

2. You want to present a professional and polished manuscript.

3. Did you tie up all your loose ends? Didn't leave anyone hanging, did you, or any issues unresolved?

4. Spell check doesn't catch all the spelling errors. Their are words out their that have homonyms, and they'refore won't be tagged as spelled incorrectly.

5. Did you do what you set out to do with this story?

Cindy Green

1. TO ensure you’ve used active voice as often as possible to make your writing exciting and interesting.

2. TO ensure continuity, follow through on your action

3. TO maintain the proper POV in each scene and make sure not to "head-hop"

4. TO correct misspellings because spell check doesn’t catch everything

5. TO delete those repetitive words which makes a manuscript lack-luster

Susan Atwood

1- To use the strongest verbs possible. Strong verbs are so descriptive and really put the reader into the character’s frame of mind.

2- Eliminate repetitive words and phrases.

3- Check for and fill plot holes as necessary.

4- Make sure that every scene moves the plot forward

5- Layering – add that extra emotion that will capture your readers imagination and make it hard to put the book down.

Margaret Callaghan

1. To ensure a professional finish.

2. To make every word count by cutting out waffle.

3. To double check for overused adverbs and irritating phrases.

4. To pick up on any continuity errors.

5. To help ensure that an already overworked editor doesn’t reach screaming pitch. (Again).

Judy Jarvie

Action and emotion – this is your final round of going through to dig and make it resonate.

Because you’re making it sharper clearer and cutting any last dead wood.

Simplify, simplify – trying to get rid of any sentences the reader may stumble on.

Sometimes your best ‘eureka’ lines come at the revision stage.

Accuracy – you don’t wanna find the mistakes later.

Loree Lough

1. You are not perfect.

2. You will make mistakes.

3. You rarely notice your own mistakes.

4. You were so involved in the story, you missed important stuff.

5. You are not perfect.

Robin Bayne

1) If you write fiction in a passive voice, it will read like a college term paper.

2) If your characters are describing themselves in the story, the reader will wonder who is stalking and actually watching them.

3) If your work contains spelling errors, readers will stop to mentally correct them and be thrown out of the story.

4) If you write in all very short sentences, your reader will be breathless, but, with all very long sentences, they will fall asleep.

5) If your sentences all end in exclamation points your editor will yell at you!!! Editor falls over dead from all those exclamation points.

Nell Dixon

1. Speeling oopsies. Did you catch that one?

2. Continuity errors. I once had a path change from gravel to tarmac then back to gravel.

3. Apostrophes or the lack thereof really can change the meaning of your story.

4. Those pesky adverbs breed like coathangers in the back of a closet.

5. You want to give your story the best possible chance of being published.

Denise Patrick

1. POV - I always need to make sure I haven’t head-hopped in the middle of a scene or slipped into omni POV

2. Sentence Structure - It’s too easy to start every sentence with "He" or "She"

3. Variation - I love long and involved sentences. Too often, I need to chop a few up.

4. Layering - Dialogue is so much fun, I often forget that the characters need to be doing more than talking

5. Repetition - What can I say? My characters are creatures of habit – my habits!

Gina Hartoog

1. Revise your work to catch small continuity errors in the plot. It’s easy to overlook these then you’re constantly involved in the story.

2. Revise to tighten your prose. Lose the extra adverbs/adjectives and make each word/sentence count.

3. Revise to catch punctuation errors.

4. Revise to find repeated words that slow down the pace of the story.

5. Revise to give yourself the best chance of publication.

Josh Lockwood

1. To catch continuity errors.

2. To catch spelling errors.

3. To eliminate head-hopping.

4. To use better action verbs.

5. To create better scenes.