So now you’ve finished writing a chapter or a story. You’re tired, fried, you want to rest and let your mind wander. If you’re a hobbyist, you’re tempted to just upload what you made and be done with it.

What about editing? 
Editing is a mostly lost art nowadays. Most people just assume their work is fine and they would have caught any errors while writing. I speak from experience when I say unedited material may seem okay from memory, but you can have a whole different animal in execution. I have re-read things I’ve written that I figured were close enough, only to gawk at the errors I’d made and wonder what in God’s name was wrong with me. I still wonder what is wrong with me, but I also edit now.

So how do you edit? What are you looking for? How long does it take? What are your options?

There are two main ways to edit a story: You can self-edit or you can get someone else to do it. If you get someone else to do it, you should still be self-editing as well. The other guy is there to give you a hand and help filter out mistakes you made. He/she is not there to rewrite your entire piece for you. So either way you have to read your own work. If you’re not willing to read your own work, then nobody else will be either.

You should read your writing a minimum of 3 times: Once for its own sake so you can get the feel of what story points you covered. Twice to locate glaring mistakes. Three times to pick up the stragglers. I like to do my first read while I am writing what I am writing. This helps prevent plot holes and acquaints you with what you have left to talk about.

If you’re really obsessive, you can take notes on your own work and what kinds of errors you found. Your goal is to eliminate as many errors before you send/publish as you can. Don’t just assume the editor (if you have one) will make everything better. You do NOT want to piss off an editor.