As a fiction writer, you’ve likely made one or more of the most common mistakes fiction authors make that are detailed in this post. Let me just say: Welcome to the club!
Hello, I’m Kaitlin, an editor for indie romance authors. Today I’m sharing a list of 8 writing mistakes I often run into when editing my clients’ work. Hopefully it helps you avoid some of these pitfalls and gets you just a little bit closer to publishing your prose!
When you’re too close to your story, it’s easy to glaze over large errors that might otherwise jump out at you. So if you’ve been staring at your manuscript for weeks on end, it’s time to take a break.
And I’m talking days—not hours or minutes. During this time, don’t let yourself open the document. At all. I’m serious!
Don’t worry—there’s still tons you can accomplish even if you’re not working on your book itself. Use this time to complete related tasks like researching comps, investigating the next step of the publishing process, reading in your genre, or creating a marketing plan for publishing.
Being too close to your story is a common mistake, but I promise this is an easy fix if you take a solid break and come back to your novel writing with a clearer head and more objective eye.
If you say you’re writing a romance, you need to follow genre conventions. Here’s why:
If readers open a book labeled as a romance, but it doesn’t match the expectations or conventions of the romance genre, they will naturally be disappointed or even upset. Imagine purchasing a box of cookies at the grocery store, and coming home to find it contains crackers instead!
Sticking to romance genre conventions is about respecting your readers and respecting the genre. It’s not a romance if there isn’t a happy ending. It’s not a romance if the love story isn’t the main plot (sometimes writers try to classify a book as “romance” when it’s actually a different genre with a romance subplot!).
You also can’t say you’re “subverting the genre” if you remove a core piece of that genre. This can alienate readers, and (pro tip) you definitely don’t want that!
Genres in fiction writing exist for a reason. They manage expectations and deliver to readers what is promised by the genre—from romance to horror and everything in between.
Cool? Cool.
Nicknames are a big part of romance novels (especially why choose), but I see mistakes in this area all the time! Authors often capitalize nicknames and titles that aren’t supposed to be capitalized.
For example:
INCORRECT: My Grandma taught me to sew.
CORRECT: My grandma taught me to sew.
Thankfully, this is another easy fix. When in doubt, substitute an actual name for the use of the nickname and see if it works. For example, replacing “grandma” with a proper name in the second version below would read “My Kaitlin taught me to sew”— which definitely doesn’t work!
It’s also important to stick to a consistent style when you’re creating nicknames in your book. While the Chicago Manual of Style doesn’t have a rule for specific types of nicknames (sweetheart, babe, etc.), most publishing houses tend to lowercase common terms of endearment and capitalize more unique nicknames. But like the example above, these are only capitalized if they could be used in place of a proper name.
Don’t get me wrong—this doesn’t mean you can’t write a long book! In fact, I’ve edited many lengthy books that were SO GOOD. What I mean is that it’s important to cut out anything that doesn’t serve your greater story. Longer doesn’t always equal better.
If you’re wondering whether to keep or cut something in your book, ask yourself:
Does all that backstory help your readers better understand the characters?
Do you need that extra scene that’s really fun or touching—even if it doesn’t move the front story forward?
Does your reader really need to know multiple characters’ thoughts and feelings (do you have too many points of view?)?
Sometimes you do need to “info dump” into the rough draft for yourself (so you can figure out a backstory, or a character’s motivations, or the relationships between different story elements), but not all of that will serve the overall story. I know it’s hard to kill your darlings, but just because you love a certain element doesn’t mean it belongs in your final version.
A word about word count (pun intended): It’s best to stick to word count norms for each genre—especially if you hope to traditionally publish—but you aren’t locked into them as long as everything in your book is serving the story.
These two are easy to mix up! Here’s a quick breakdown of the difference:
Action beats are short sentences that break up dialogue and show what the speaker is doing. For example, “I’d better leave.” He fidgeted nervously with his keys. “Can I tell you something before I go?”
Dialogue tags describe how something is being said. For example, “I’d better leave,” he whispered.
Note: Dialogue tags can be tricky because certain types are controversial. Growled, hissed, laughed, and snorted are just a few examples. If you work with a traditional publisher you probably won’t get a say on which ones they approve. Some editors and publishing houses are very strict in this area, while others allow more creative license. Whichever publishing route you take, make sure you discuss this with your copyeditor before they begin working on your project!
This is one of the most common errors I find when copyediting (and one of the most common mistakes fiction authors make), and it totally makes sense! Storylines in fiction writing can be really detailed and confusing. When you’ve been writing a novel for months on end, timeline discrepancies can easily slip through the cracks. While an editor will help catch these mistakes later, you can minimize them now (and save yourself some rewriting) with creative hacks like writing on a literal calendar or color coding.
POV (point of view) switching is another one of the common mistakes fiction authors make. This is when you switch from one character’s perspective to another without a scene or chapter break.
This “head-hopping” can be super confusing for your readers when it’s not clear whose perspective is being shown (hence using scene or chapter breaks). It also distracts from the story or can even disconnect your readers from the characters and tempt them to put the book down (yikes!).
Because of these risks, I promise it’s worth your time to learn how to avoid POV mistakes in your story.
This one seems pretty obvious, but you’d be surprised at the number of new writers who self-publish without a professional editor or an extensive revision process.
It’s tempting to try and skip this part when you’re writing a book in order to save money. Some authors try to substitute beta readers for a professional editor, but these are NOT substitutes for one another.
Three quick reasons you need an editor:
You want to put out a quality product that does your story justice.
You otherwise risk losing readers and your reputation as a professional author.
Professional writing calls for professional editing, full stop.
I know editing is expensive, but it’s a necessity. You are a professional creating a product for people to buy, which means it needs to be polished and put together.
In other words: Why expect people to pay money for a book that you didn’t pay to edit?
If you’re not sure how to hire an editor, be sure to read this post for my best tips on finding an editor you love.
Making mistakes and learning from them is a normal part of the writing craft. If you’ve made one or more of these common fiction writing mistakes, I want you to know two things:
1) You’re in (very) good company.
2) I’m here to help!
If you’re searching for an editor who can help you strengthen your story, send me a message! I offer a free sample edit so you can decide if I’m the right person to give your book the care and attention it deserves.
If you’re an author looking to hire an editor, here are some author red flags that editors look for—check them out to see what worries book editors when talking to potential clients.
Here are answers to all of my most frequently asked questions as a professional freelance book editor. Some of these book editor faqs might surprise you!
When should you use italics? When should you avoid using italics? When is italics a tool for an author and when does it detract from the story? Read this blog to find out!