My Three Rules of Editing

I just got comments for my first book back from my two readers. I have to say, first, that I am extremely lucky to have two such talented and insightful people willing to look through the whole manuscript and give detailed comments. So: thanks, guys.

My first draft of my first book was a train wreck. I’ve already noticed a lot of problems I’m having in the first book—mainly due to poor planning—that already aren’t happening in the next one, which is about halfway done. The first book will likely need a lot more work than the second. I want it to be ready for agents by December, but if this turns out to be a problem child—and the second book is ready much sooner—I will live with it.

So here are my three rules for this round of edits. Rules I intend to live by.

No cut and paste. A character’s eyes are green in one scene, brown in the next. People are sitting in one paragraph, then standing in another, then sitting in the next. Random scene consistency issues are a problem—most memorably, a big scene where the heroine appears to be in her underwear. She’s not; I just forgot to mention she got dressed after the last scene in her bedroom. Oops!

The big reason for this is that I wrote several drafts of this book, more or less concurrently. Then I went through and consolidated the best bits of each. But I never noticed the continuity problems—largely because I was too close to the material. First rule for editing: No cut and paste.

Use it or lose it. I have a lot of characters in my book that seem like big news—as one of my readers commented—only to fade into the background early. They need to have clear motivations and a role to play throughout the book. Other objects, supernatural or otherwise, need to be put to good use or thrown out. Second rule for editing: Use it or lose it.

Define the world. If I defined how my world works more clearly—what rules I’m operating under for vampires, magic, ghosts, ESP and other things—I would have a much easier time explaining the weird things that happen. The world has to make sense, even if it’s supernatural. Before I write the outline, I’ll sit down and plot out my rules of engagement for this world.

There are plenty of other problems too—notably, my main character gets overshadowed a lot by her friends and enemies. But I already have some ideas for how to make her stronger. Hopefully the next draft will be much stronger and more consistent—and easier to edit.