The Self Editing Process

[Gamal]

My latest article talks about the pleasure and pain of self-editing your novel.

http://bit.ly/1eYmLfk

Enjoy
Gamal

[Feliks]

Pain. I am thoroughly glad I did not choose writing as my career, after reading that account. The amount of strain and care, which you have to expend on 'being a professional writer' vs simply writing, seems to outweigh the pleasure of practicing the art.

[Don]

Gamal, Flaubert rewrote Madame Bovary several times. He would spend days, sometimes weeks, rewriting a single page. It took five years to complete.

And Hemingway rewrote the ending of Farewell to Arms 39 times.

If you care about your work, you do the work.

[Gamal]

Don wrote: "Gamal, Flaubert rewrote Madame Bovary several times. He would spend days, sometimes weeks, rewriting a single page. It took five years to complete.

And Hemingway rewrote the ending of Farewell to..."

I'll never be in a position to argue with the technique of a master, but neither of those writing styles work for me. I've tried writing and rewriting a novel once. It took me ten years and I was a completely different person by the time it was done. The book itself was an unholy mess. If I thought an ending needed to be redone 40 times, I doubt that that story would see the light of day.

Does that mean I don't care about the work? Maybe. But at a certain point an artist needs to let the work out into the world. Perfection is subjective and therefore impossible. A good book that people can read is preferable to me than a great book that never sees the light of day because I'm constantly improving it.

Does that make sense?

Thanks for the feedback.

Have fun.
Gamal

[Don]

Gamal wrote: "...Does that make sense?"

Gamal, I am not criticizing your technique at all. I was just showing that each author edits their work in their own way. Now, according to Felix, you expend a great deal of effort in your technique, so much so that it might outweigh the pleasure of the art. Yet, some writers expend even more.

What makes sense for the writer, makes sense.

[David]

Each writer is like the books they write; there are no two alike exactly. Similar, but not alike.

I have a very hyperactive work ethic when it comes to writing. I am nearing the three quarter mark with my current novel and I've only been at it less than a month. If I don't write two thousand to four thousand words a day, I mental kick myself in the butt till bed time, then make all sorts of apologies to myself in the morning for the extra work load.

My editing process is just as hectic. I write the book, then immediately dive back into it from the top weeding out anything that has no relevance to the narrative, even if it physically causes me pain to remove that page, or pages.

I then hand the manuscript over to my editor and together we read through the manuscript in sessions; her at her computer, and me at mine so I can argue every single tiny change she demands. Then I walk away and let her refine the work without my interference.

When it's finished, I'd say the whole editing process took two weeks.

Now I realize that not everyone can do what I do, nor would I recommend it. It's break-neck paced, it's borderline sloppy, and it offers me absolutely no chance to second guess myself. I have to trust that what I wrote is it. No do over, no corrections, and no rewrites. I never rewrite. Not even a single page. I remove, or I augment.

I think it was T.S. Eliot that wrote only five hundred words a day, and not one word over, even if he were in the middle of a sentence.

Dean Koontz puts in eleven hour work days.

So I get it. And what I get, is that, people need a schedule, but one that works for them. Devotion to the craft doesn't have to mean hating your work. But as a writer, and what I'm constantly telling the in-laws is that writing IS my job, and I have to treat it as such. Granted, it's probably the only job that I truly don't mind putting in the overtime for.

[Ken]

I have a full time job, and then come home and write in the evenings. No set number of words or hours, I just write until I feel like I need to stop. I don't mind editing my work at all. In fact, I enjoy it a lot, as it's where the gibberish of the first draft starts to come together and ultimately sound pretty good. I wrote ten drafts of my first novel, and it got better with each one. Sooner or later, though, you have to say "Enough, dammit!"

[Ken]

Gamal, I can agree with the reading out loud approach, although I've never read huge chunks of my work out loud. When I've struggled with a particular line or two, I often read out loud the entire passage in which it occurs.

[Ken]

One editor told me to put my novel away for at least a full year, complete a draft of the next novel, and then go back to the earlier one. I said, "Yeah, right."

[Gamal]

Don wrote: "Gamal wrote: "...Does that make sense?"

Gamal, I am not criticizing your technique at all. I was just showing that each author edits their work in their own way. Now, according to Felix, you expen..."

Someone came up with the cliche 'If you love your work, then it's not really work." That's how I feel about writing. It would be different if I was writing an assignment that someone gave to me, but creating my own stories doesn't feel like work at all (even if it isn't easy).

But I'm still not rewriting an ending 39 times. ;)

Thanks as always for the input.

[Gamal]

David wrote: "Each writer is like the books they write; there are no two alike exactly. Similar, but not alike.

I have a very hyperactive work ethic when it comes to writing. I am nearing the three quarter mark..."

Question David; why do you argue against each change she suggests? It sounds like you have a very strong working relationship with your editor. Is there some friction between your respective styles that creates those arguments?

Thanks for sharing your process.

Have fun.
Gamal

[Gamal]

Ken wrote: "One editor told me to put my novel away for at least a full year, complete a draft of the next novel, and then go back to the earlier one. I said, "Yeah, right.""

Thanks Ken. I can't wait a year to go back to a novel either. After about four weeks I start to miss it, and I have a publishing plan that can't fit in a year of downtime. Maybe I'll do that after I have a few bestsellers and a major motion picture under my belt. ;)

[David]

Gamal wrote: "David wrote: "Each writer is like the books they write; there are no two alike exactly. Similar, but not alike.

I have a very hyperactive work ethic when it comes to writing. I am nearing the thre..."

I wouldn't call it stylistic disagreement; it always comes to flow and intent.

For example, she'll ask if I really want a piece of dialogue to sound a certain way, or if I intended to write something a specific way. Catching my problem paragraphs, and questioning the delivery of the tone, or voice.

Fifty percent of the time, I defer to her judgment, and the rest of the time I make a convincing argument that I don't want it changed. Or I don't want to remove that specific paragraph, or change a sentence. It's always fifty-fifty. In the end we compromise, bicker, and put sheen after sheen on the manuscript until it's shining and polished to both our satisfactions.

Most of the disagreement that comes about is usually because I would love to fool myself into thinking that I wrote it perfect the first time, and she points out the flaws, and I groan and admit failure. It's just the process, and it works.

I also meant to say in my earlier post, that like you, I also read through the entire manuscript aloud during my initial comb-over. I also read through each chapter as I write it to my editor to see immediately if it needs tweaking, and many times (always) it does, and many early mistakes are caught right away.

As for the strong relationship... yeah; I have a great relationship with my editor. She's my wife. Hehehe.

Though that isn't to suggest that she goes easy on me in the least. Her S.S. Rank Gestapo certified Grammar ruler will smack me with extreme prejudice.

Now if you'll excuse me, the atmosphere in the house has shifted, and she can sense that I have written something about her... so many sacrificial prostrations and ministrations must now ensue.

[Gamal]

David wrote: "Gamal wrote: "David wrote: "Each writer is like the books they write; there are no two alike exactly. Similar, but not alike.

I have a very hyperactive work ethic when it comes to writing. I am ne..."

I get it now. The back and forth makes much more sense when you include the trump card of being married to your editor.

Please continue with all necessary prostrations and ritual sacrifices.

Have fun.
Gamal

[Matt]

Lots of interesting comments here. I work full time and squeeze in a few hours writing in the evening myself. I spent as long editing and rewriting my first novel as I did writing it in the first place; about a year and a half each.

Has anyone read Stephen King's On Writing? Really fascinating to hear the thoughts of one of the best selling authors on the planet on how he edits his work. He suggests leaving a first draft for a few months, long enough until it becomes like something someone else has written, allowing you to be objective about it. Apparently the best advice he has ever received from an editor is 'second draft, equals first draft minus 10%'.

All good fun however you do it

Cheers
Matt

[Don]

Gamal wrote: "...but creating my own stories doesn't feel like work at all (even if it isn't easy)."

If it were easy, everybody would write novels.

Tolstoy's wife wrote seven manuscripts by hand of War and Peace until he was finally satisfied. Something drives writers like Tolstoy, Flaubert, and Hemingway. That same something drove Michaelangelo to paint the Sistine Chapel. It drove Van Gogh and Mark Rothko to madness. The pursuit of perfection perhaps?

In any work of art there is passion and suffering: Is this the right color? Is this the right word? Is this the right camera angle? The regrets begin to mount, and the artist tries something new...and we are all the richer for it.

That's why I call it the "work" of art.