Self-editing checklist

Clean the draft before the manuscript edit.

Use this checklist to catch common genre-fiction issues before sending a manuscript for a copyedit-style pass or diagnostic review.

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Clarity

Can the reader tell who is present, where the scene is happening, and what changed by the end?

Action

Search for sentences where pronouns, blocking, or cause-and-effect make the action hard to follow.

Repetition

Look for repeated words, repeated sentence shapes, repeated emotional beats, and repeated explanations.

Continuity

Track names, dates, wounds, objects, locations, weather, and timeline markers in a simple style sheet.

Stakes

Replace abstract pressure with specific consequences the reader can picture and fear.

Motivation

For each major choice, make sure the reader understands the want, fear, pressure, or tradeoff.

Pacing

Mark scenes where nothing changes, scenes that repeat the same conflict, and scenes that rush a major turn.

Voice

Keep deliberate style choices, but cut accidental clutter that hides the authorial voice underneath.

A simple three-pass method

Read for story only. Mark confusing plot, character, and pacing moments without editing sentences yet.
Read for continuity. Build a style sheet for names, dates, spelling choices, repeated terms, and timeline issues.
Read for line friction. Fix unclear action, repetition, awkward phrasing, typos, and grammar issues.

What to save for an editor

Bring your biggest questions to the edit: the scenes you do not trust, the character choices that feel thin, the chapters that drag, and the places readers might get lost. The clearer your worries are, the better the diagnostic letter can be.