As any quality chef would say, "food tastes only as good as the time it takes to make it." The same is true with your project. The time which you invest into this critical step will well be worth the effort and your success in the long run. Let's take a look at some of the common areas you should be aware of when polishing your manuscript.
First off, there are endless agencies and firms you can work with to help you proof your work. Typically, these fall under the term "Copy Editing Services." A simple Google search for this term will provide you with a number of resources that offer professional editing services. Alternatively, most states have what they call a "Writer (or Author) Association" for local writers that exist to provide valuable resources for their authors. To get started on editing your own work, I have included some helpful hints below.
Grammar and Spelling
This goes without saying. If you are like most of us, you know what you wanted to write, but thought twice about the way it read. If you don't have a major in English, I highly recommend finding someone who does that will kindly take a look at your manuscript and make grammatical suggestions. Not only will you reap the benefits, but now you can say that someone, other than yourself, has read your book! Congratulations on your first reader!
Layout
Your book is written and you have made grammatical corrections, now you can take a step back and look at your project from a different height. I was once told by a famous musician that he believes there is more music between the notes than there is written on the page. Take this same philosophy and learn to train your eyes to discover the spacing between your words, the alignment of your chapter titles (are they supposed to be centered?) and the layout of your artwork (are the edges of your artwork being cutoff?). These are areas that are often overlooked and can be critical to the readability and flow of your book.
Widow and Orphan Lines
A widow line is generally the last line of your paragraph that is by itself at the top of a page. Similarly, an orphan line is a line of text that is by itself at the bottom of a page, most commonly at the beginning of a paragraph. These usually appear during the process of correcting your grammar or adjusting artwork that has been placed within your text. Some effective ways for getting around the appearance of widow/orphan lines are rewriting your paragraph, adding subject matter, adjusting your spacing and/or page margins or fine tuning your font parameters. Although it is not necessary to eliminate all widow/orphan lines, it is generally recommended that your manuscript contains at least 2 lines of text at the top and bottom of all of your pages.
Unclear Content
It is very easy for the author to understand the ideas of their manuscript as, well...they wrote it! However, while the ideas may be clear to you, they may come across differently to someone reading your book for the first time. Reread the main points of your book as if you have never read them before. Perhaps you'll find you need to elaborate on certain ideas or you may find you can delete some of the content and still have the idea communicated effectively. Emplore a friend a two to read your proof and ask whether or not your ideas are clearly presented. The advice of others can be a valuable asset when you are genuine about making a memorable impact.
Proofreaders' Marks
Lastly, I recommend familiarizing yourself with the Chicago Manual of Style Proofreaders' marks. This set of editing marks is basically a way of editing your work and making corrections with shorthand, which will save you valuable time during the editing process.
The basic idea of proofing, or editing, your project can be summed up with the five universal "C's:" clear, correct, concise, consistent and comprehensible. If you can succeed in all five of these areas, then you can confidently move forward knowing your manuscript has the polish and integrity it needs to rise to the top.
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