Can You Overedit?

Perfection is not possible, so yes, you can overedit.

I defy you to name a book where mistakes are non-existent. Typically, they’re minor mistakes, but they’re there and will show up in your book no matter how much time you spend editing your manuscript. That’s not to say you should put out work full of mistakes. What it means is that you need to accept you’re human, and errors are inevitable.

When you find those two misspelled words in your three-hundred-page novel, it will frustrate you and will never feel right. At some point, though, you need to put an end to the editing process and move on.

Incessant over editing becomes obsessive, and at times doesn’t improve your book but steers your initial concept in a different direction.

I’m not fond of editing. I hate it, hate it, and hate it some more. Did I mention I hate it? Reading my manuscript over and over is a tedious task. After the fourth read, I become so sick and tired of looking at it that I make more mistakes than correct.

You can hire a copy editor to find the errors you miss, but finding a reliable, professional editor is like searching for a needle in a haystack. This, I know first hand. Thus far, the editors I’ve worked with have drained my bank account and left me wondering why I hired them.

When editing, try to make it as error-free as possible, but realize that you have to roll with what you have at some point. Come to terms with the fact it will never be perfect and that the occasional mistake will get away from you.