When is your novel really done?

Over the long weekend, my parents were kind and generous enough to purchase a plane ticket for me to come down to Florida. And for the first time in over a year, me and my siblings were all together. It was a wonderful visit and I’m already looking forward to going back.

One of my favorite parts of my trip was leaving my nearly completed manuscript on my mom’s bedside table for her to read. She’s my most trusted beta reader and something of a good luck charm; once she gives her approval, I seem to get a yes from a publisher. Naturally, I’m anxious to hear what she has to say about Lightning Strikes.

Without Ma’s magic touch, I already know there are areas of the manuscript that need to be tightened and shined. That being said, editing and revising can still be quite overwhelming. So where does one begin?

I found a treasure trove of articles through Writer’s Digest, all written by Kris Spisak and linked below. The first article was all about knowing when your novel was ready to be read, and broke down seven editing processes a writer can use to determine the “readiness” of their manuscript.

Phase One (Big-Picture) Editing Exercises:Creating a post-first-draft outline
– Write your book’s Mission Statement
– Examine what you’ve captured on the page
– Double-check every scene against your Mission Statement

My book doesn’t have a Mission Statement, or at least I haven’t written it, but I’m impressed with myself for creating a post-first-draft outline before I read this article and before I even knew such a thing existed. I’m working right now to make sure I hit all my plot points and that the chapters are evenly developed.
Shaping an editorial road map
– Put down the red pen (virtual or otherwise)
– Look don’t touch
– Revise according to your meticulous plan
– Leave no trace

Spisak writes about creating a map legend and marking your manuscript throughout in areas that need attention. I didn’t use a legend, but I did use a pink pen, a blue pen, post-its, and highlighters. I annotated it thoroughly and put it in a binder. My post-first-draft outline My post-first-draft outline My post-first-draft outline

We all want to dive into the heavy lifting so we can be finished with our books already, but a powerful edit isn’t a rushed one.

Kris Spisak

Phase Two (Empowering the Subtleties) Editing Exercises:Fleshing out your character differentiation
– Emotional tells
– Body Language
– Dialogue

This will be the focus of an upcoming edit.
Deleting your cheating words
– Realize
– Felt
– Suddenly

One of my absolutely favorite writers, Chuck Palahniuk, takes this one step further. He advocates for removing all “thought” verbs: thinks, knows, understands, realizes, believes, wants, remembers, imagines, desires, loves, and hates. When writing advice is echoed, I pay attention because there’s so much of it out there that when I find a consensus, I believe such advice is tested and true. Editing in multiple drafts for specific reasons was championed by all my brilliant professors at the University of Limerick.[image error]Chuck Palahniuk, a geniusPhase Three (The Final Polish!) Editing Exercises:Tackling a reverse edit

I am so excited to try this! This will be the last edit I do before querying agents.
Challenging yourself to a timed editAn Anytime Revison Strategy:Revising in waves

Editing in drafts to specifically focus on one issue/aspect of the manuscript.Kris Spisak, editor extraordinaire

I’ll announce when my manuscript is done and ready for agents Wish me luck! And if you’d like to help me on that journey and be a beta reader, please comment and let me know! I’d also love to hear about other publishing journeys!

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