What’s a Line-Edit, and Why Do I Have to Do One?

Hello Fellow Readers and Writers–

Good news.  I just finished the line-edit for Knit Ahoy! Murder at Sea.  I’m meeting with my cover designer tomorrow and the book should be available on Amazon by Thursday.

But what’s a “line-edit” and why do one, you ask?

Have you ever been reading an e-book or book in print, and come across a misspelled word?  It pulls you right out of the story, and the world you were so immersed in moments before.  As a reader, you don’t want that to happen.  As a writer, you have to try to prevent it from happening.

In a line-edit, you go over every single word in your manuscript, looking for mistakes you may have made with your typing.  Reading aloud is helpful here.  I tend to type rather quickly, so I come across the word “her,” when I meant to say “here.”  Or “on,” where I meant to say “one.”  I know it sounds like a minor thing, but to your reader, it isn’t.

So don’t rush to publish, if you haven’t corrected everything you can.  (You’ll undoubtedly miss a couple of words, but do your best.)  Take that extra time to do a line-edit before you upload your e-book to Amazon, or wherever.  Your readers will thank you for it!

Happy Reading and Writing to You All,

Jill-Ayn