Most writers I work with don’t send me messy drafts. They send manuscripts they’ve revised multiple times, shared with beta readers, and checked carefully with grammar tools. And a lot of them are already in good shape. However... Self-editing and professional copyediting aren’t the same thing—and that difference is exactly what helps a manuscript feel polished instead of just “pretty good.” What Self-Editing Does Well When you revise your own work, you’re usually looking at