In my letter “Just cut stuff” I wrote about working on the copyedits of the manuscript for Don’t Call It Art, and how you don’t have to rewrite what’s not there:
Whenever I find myself snagged on a suggested edit, the first thing I ask myself is: Does this even need to be here?
I find the easiest thing to do with something that isn’t working in a piece of writing is to just cut it out completely.
In my letter “All publishing is self-publishing,” I shared my 3 tips for self-editing:
The best editor is you… tomorrow, print your work out and edit it by hand, and record the audiobook before you finish the manuscript!
The easiest thing to write about when you’re writing is writing and the easiest thing to write about when you’re editing… is editing.