With all the books, talks, classes, and workshops available on self-editing, a writer can quickly become overwhelmed by advice. In every work of fiction, there's so much to be concerned about: plot, characterization, scene structure, setting, backstory, dialogue, and pacing. You must maintain suspense, portray your characters' emotions, show events rather than tell about them, make effective use of comparisons, and achieve consistency of style and voice. You must avoid passive voice, information dumps, repeated information, digressions, cliches, and unnecessary words and phrases. Finally, you...