When you're self-editing your own novel, especially as an indie author, it's easy to get lost in the weeds. The line between poetic and padded, subtle and soft, bold and overwritten can blur quickly. Here's a look at how I approached my own final editing pass with intentionality, pattern spotting, and gentle rigor.

The Goal

Refine the manuscript without losing its soul. Remove redundant modifiers, overused adverbs, and weak phrasing, while preserving rhythm, tone, and character voice.

What Got Refined

1. “Gently” Overuse
Original Count: 14
Final Count: 4
Approach:

• Removed where the action or phrasing implied softness already.
  
• Replaced with more specific emotion or omitted when redundant.
  
• Kept only when it added tonal contrast, character voice, or emotional shading.
  
  

2. “Softly” Overuse
Original Count: 17
Final Count: 2
Approach:

• Identified whether “softly” described tone, pace, or emotional texture.
  
• Rewrote using stronger verbs or scene context when “softly” wasn’t necessary.
  
• In a few rare instances (parental dynamics, voice memory), it was retained for warmth and intimacy.
  
  

3. “Slowly” Trim
Original Count: 21
Final Count: 6
Approach:

• Rewrote for implication. If the pacing was clearly slow, “slowly” became filler.
  
• Substituted with structural cues or scene composition (e.g., sentence length, cadence).
  
• Kept when pacing had dramatic or emotional value (e.g., walking into danger, building tension).
  
  

4. Other “-ly” Adverbs
Each one was reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Some (like mockingly or tenderly) were retained or introduced for precision, not as filler but as sharp tonal choices.

Editing Insights & Mindset

Kill your darlings, carefully.
Adverbs aren’t evil. But in revision, every word should earn its place. Especially in emotionally charged scenes, clarity and tone do more than any ly word can.

Imply pace and tone through structure.
How you build a sentence can do the work of an adverb:

• Long, breathy phrasing = gentle
  
• Short, clipped phrasing = urgent
  
• Syntax can carry mood.
  
  

When in doubt, read aloud.
Your ear will catch the bloat your eyes miss.