How to Avoid the Nightmares of Editing

If you think I’m about to tell you how NOT to edit, you’re wrong. I’m just going to tell you how to edit without pain.

What? you say. That’s impossible! The definition of editing is ‘a painful process by which authors attempt to improve their books.’

That’s not true! Editing doesn’t have to be awful!

Of course is does!

Well, aren’t we Mr. Optimistic! Shut your pessimistic mouth and listen! I’m about to give you a five-step guide to editing your novel!

This is what I’m doing right now with The Lady of the Vineyard.[image error]

Step One: Break

Your novel is finished! You’re excited and happy and a little bit exhausted! Time to start editing, right?

Wrong.

Time to take a break.

I’m not suggesting ‘set is aside for a year.’ Or yet a month, which I consider too extreme unless the next month happens to be December (see NaNoWriMo) in which case that makes sense.

But most of the time … I’m suggesting a week. A week in which you don’t do anything. That includes working on other projects! Blog a little more. Respond to those emails that are backing up. Read like a crazy … reader. DON’T YOU DARE WRITE; DON’T YOU DARE EDIT! TRY NOT THINK ABOUT YOUR BOOK AT ALL! You can do it! I know you can!

It’s great if you can schedule this week full of activity off the internet, though. I was at horse camp for a week after I finished The Lady of the Vineyard. That was really great!

Step Two: Revision

When this week is up? Come back, read through your novel once, making notes on what needs changed. As you go, you can pick out typos, add in a scene or two, trash the first draft bilge, etc. Don’t concentrate too much on improving sentence structure or anything … this is mostly just for the plot and a little for the characters. Make your novel make sense.

For a novella like The Lady of the Vineyard, this doesn’t take long, especially since I tend to revise while writing.