My Editing Process

So you finished your novel, and...now what? I know that for me, even though I've been writing since elementary school, the finished novel is uncharted territory. But I can tell you one thing: the work isn't over when you write your closing scene. Oh no: it's just beginning.

I thought revisions would take a ridiculous amount of time, but I'm finding I'm screaming through them--revising is much less arduous than writing. Here's an overview of my process--and a few tips to help you along the way.

First: take some time off. My first tip for the editing process is don't edit. At least, not for a month. A funny thing happens when you're in the end stages of writing a novel. You become myopic. You can't tell what's good, what's bad, and what's not working. Your plot has veered way off course and putting it back together seems like an insurmountable job. The reason it seems so overwhelming is that you're too close to things: you're counting individual leaves, and you need a forest's-eye view.

I took a month's break between finishing my novel and starting to edit. It made a huge difference.

Second: print and read. There's something different about printing your novel and reading it in hardcopy. It's more solid and real somehow, and details tend to stick in your mind more easily. I printed out my novel at home and put it in a large binder--no stapler or clip would hold that baby.

Your first draft, if you've done things right, is likely to be a big, tangled mess by the time you get done. On your first pass, you're looking for plot inconsistencies, areas where you need more development, and scenes that need to go in the "outtakes" folder. Read it through once, pen in hand, and make notes in the margins. Read it through again and make more notes. Get a sense of where your plot loses focus and your pacing lags.

Third: Re-outline. Once you're done, you're going to need a game plan to improve your first draft. I'm starting with a new outline--one that takes all my prior notes into account. I'm going through my rough draft, reading and digesting my notes, and organizing it all into a new outline that includes scenes that work and what needs to be added and subtracted.

Fourth: Rewrite. Once your outline is done, you're going to have some more writing on your plate--all those scenes you need to make your plot work. Luckily, you'll probably be deleting a bunch of scenes too--I'll probably delete about a third of the novel in "outtake" scenes. But it will be worth it for a streamlined plot.

Fifth: Repeat. I'm expecting to revise my draft several times, each time with a different focus. The first time, I'm focusing on plot. The second time, I'll focus on building romantic tension and suspense--make sure my pacing is on track. The third time, I'll focus on language. You may not be able to do everything you want in your first editing pass--so expect to go through it more than once.

Sixth: Send to a friend. Once you're convinced you've made your book as good as it will be, send it to a trusted friend you can count on to give you good, knowledgeable and insightful advice WITHOUT either a). tearing you down or b). giving only praise. I'm lucky in that I have several good friends I can trust with first draft revisions. The ideal first-draft reviser is knowledgeable about writing and knows their way around the genre you're working in. Ideally, you have more than one to draw on.

Seventh: Send to a less experienced friend. Once you've made revisions based on your friends' feedback, you need to see how your book will play in Peoria. Meaning: you need to show it to people who aren't experienced writers, but who might have the same opinions an outside reader would. You don't need to be as careful on this pass--your goal is to find out what people beyond your carefully chosen writing circle, people who maybe didn't even know you were writing a book, think of it. Take this advice with a grain of salt; you've gotten too far to let a negative review discourage you. But you may learn some useful things as well.

So, that's my editing process. I'm currently on Step Three. What step are you on?