Self-editing checklist: [Title of the draft]

Work one pass at a time, top to bottom, through the whole draft. Tick a box only when the whole draft passes it. Replace the blue placeholders and delete the grey notes as you go.

Pass log

One row per pass. Each pass ends with a decision: write it here, specifically enough that the next session starts without rereading.

Pass 1: Structure

Read fast, make notes and change nothing on the first read. Fill in the reverse outline as you go: one row per chapter or section. Ends with: keep, cut, merge or move against every row, and the moves made.

• The central question or argument fits in one sentence, and the ending answers it

• The opening raises that question early

• Every chapter or section changes something; the ones that don't are cut, merged or moved

• The order is the one the reader needs: time, logic or rising stakes

• The middle builds instead of repeating the same beat

• The most important parts get the most space

• Nothing the ending depends on is missing from the earlier pages

Pass 2: Scenes and paragraphs

One unit at a time: the scene in fiction, the section and paragraph in nonfiction. Ends with: every scene or section kept, cut, merged or given a new start and end.

• Each scene has a goal, an obstacle and an outcome; each section has one job

• Scenes start late and end early, without arrivals and goodbyes that don't matter

• Background arrives when the reader needs it, not in blocks

• After every break, the first lines say when, where and whose scene it is

• Each paragraph has one point, and its first sentence says what it is

• Each paragraph follows from the one before it

Pass 3: Sentences

Read aloud. Mark every sentence you stumble over, then fix the marks. Ends with: every marked sentence rewritten, or kept on purpose.

• Every sentence you tripped over when reading aloud has been rewritten

• Subjects and verbs come early, and long sentences make sense on one reading

• Passive verbs stay only where the doer is unknown or doesn't matter

• Sentence lengths and openings vary

• No sentence repeats what the one before it said

• Dialogue sounds like people talking, with plain tags

Pass 4: Words

Search before you read: crutch words are easier to find with a search than by eye. List your own here, then search for each one. Ends with: a found and a kept count for every word.

• Your own crutch words have been searched for, then cut or changed

• Filler such as just, really, very, actually and quite is gone where the sentence works without it

• A weak verb plus an adverb has become one exact verb

• Nouns doing a verb's job are verbs again: decided, not made a decision

• Words repeated close together are repeated on purpose

• Clichés and stock phrases are replaced or cut

Pass 5: Consistency

Check the draft against the style sheet below, and add to the sheet as you go. Ends with: every mismatch fixed and every choice on the sheet.

• Names, places and invented words are spelled the same everywhere

• Dates, ages, days of the week and seasons agree with the timeline

• Facts and numbers match wherever they appear

• Every term means the same thing each time it is used

• Style choices hold: numbers, capitals, hyphens, dashes, quotation marks

• Headings, chapter numbers and cross-references match the table of contents

Style sheet

Every choice you make, in one place: spellings, names, numbers, style. Note where each one first appears.

Pass 6: Proofread

Last, slowly, on a fresh copy: print it, change the font and size, or export it and read it on another device. Ends with: a yes or a no. The draft goes to the next reader, or you list what still stops it.

• The draft is in a new format: printed, in a different font or on another device

• It has been read slowly, a line at a time, and once backward, sentence by sentence

• Typos, doubled words and missing words are fixed

• Punctuation is right around dialogue, quotations and lists

• Page numbers, running heads and chapter openings are correct

• The layout follows the submission guidelines

Fiction: add these to the passes

Optional. For a novel, a story collection or a memoir told in scenes; delete this section if it doesn't fit your draft.

• Pass 1: every subplot resolves, or is dropped on purpose

• Pass 1: each main character wants something and changes, or refuses to, by the end

• Pass 2: one viewpoint per scene, with no head-hopping

• Pass 2: the key moments happen in scene, not in summary

• Pass 2: every planted detail pays off, and every payoff was planted

• Pass 2: chapter endings give the reader a reason to turn the page

• Pass 3: filter words such as saw, heard and felt are cut where the viewpoint is already clear

• Pass 5: eye color, ages, scars, cars and pets match the story bible

Nonfiction: add these to the passes

Optional. For a thesis, a report, a nonfiction book or a long article; delete this section if it doesn't fit your draft. A memoir may need items from both.

• Pass 1: the thesis or main finding is stated early, and every section serves it

• Pass 1: the conclusion claims no more than the evidence shows

• Pass 2: every claim has its evidence in the same paragraph or the next

• Pass 2: headings are informative and parallel in form

• Pass 5: every quotation has been checked word for word against its source

• Pass 5: every in-text citation has a reference entry, and every entry is cited

• Pass 5: numbers, units and percentages add up, in the text and in the tables

• Pass 5: figures and tables are numbered in order and mentioned in the text

• Pass 6: the abstract or summary matches the final version, not an earlier one

Before it goes to the next reader

• All six passes are marked done in the pass log

• Any fiction or nonfiction items you kept are ticked, and sections that don't fit this draft are deleted

• The style sheet is up to date and goes with the draft

• A version of this draft is saved before you send it

• The file is named and formatted the way the reader asked

• You have a list of the questions you want the reader to answer