David Mamet's 9 Rules to Ruthless Editing. No one wants to write dull, lifeless lines that lull even the most hyper people to sleep.
Certainly not you, right? But why do we find it so hard to write what we want to say in the least amount of words–and still maintain potency? It’s not easy because we tend to fall in love with what we write. We fear cutting out anything important. How to edit your own writing. One of the biggest challenges for any writer, outside of committing the work to paper or computer screen, is finalizing it.
As self-publishing has gained popularity, the editor's role has become essential. Considering my experience as a writer and an editor, I find it can be incredibly challenging to fill these roles simultaneously. Moreover, it's something I advise against. If you are going to self-publish, I highly recommend enlisting third-party help to edit and then proofread your work.
(Again, these two functions should probably not be performed by the same person.) Blessed with too much knowledge.