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As I dig into the edit notes for Book2: Electric Boogaloo (working title) I thought a thread on my process with revisions could be helpful to some. I& #39;ve used this for 2 books now (and did a big R&R for my debut that landed me an agent) so these methods are Proven
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Read the person& #39;s notes. Like, more than once. More than twice. MANY TIMES. Give yourself time to digest
And, if you have questions about them - ASK!!
My first round notes are almost always about deepening things - plot, character, threading things thru the entire book
And, if you have questions about them - ASK!!
My first round notes are almost always about deepening things - plot, character, threading things thru the entire book
Once you think you understand the notes, break them down. I find an Excel spreadsheet is helpful: a column for each note/topic that needs to be handled, a column for how & WHERE I plan to revise -- my headers looked like the below, but you do you.
Go through your manuscript, page by page, while assessing the notes you were given. Do you see places where you can add (or subtract - in my case it& #39;s usually mostly add) plot/character/theme - even if it& #39;s just a sentence - in order to solve the issues presented?
KEEP IN MIND--
It is AMAZING how much can be solved with a single sentence. Deepening character doesn& #39;t mean overwriting them - it means adding lots of little tweaks/details to them throughout your entire manuscript in order to create a whole person.
It is AMAZING how much can be solved with a single sentence. Deepening character doesn& #39;t mean overwriting them - it means adding lots of little tweaks/details to them throughout your entire manuscript in order to create a whole person.
If you need to rip out sections of your book, be merciless. Your book will be better for it!!
(Pro tip: keep a separate doc of all those words. You prob wont use it, but you never know!)
(Pro tip: keep a separate doc of all those words. You prob wont use it, but you never know!)
Speaking to that point - there& #39;s a scene in my debut that I added back in during edits because it helped with character. I& #39;d written it months prior and taken it out because I didnt think it fit, but my editor loved it!
It& #39;s in the final version of the book.
It& #39;s in the final version of the book.
Revision is hard but if you think of it more as a science than an art, it can really help. Just think - the first draft-- the heavy lifting, brain scraping part of writing IMO-- is over.
You& #39;re almost there!!
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You& #39;re almost there!!
