One of the most important things to remember about writing a book is that the first draft is usually terrible. And that’s okay. It’s more important to get through it and get the words and story down on paper than to make sure it’s perfect as you go. Seize your inspiration and motivation to write your story and write it. Leave the editing for later.
This mindset allows you to write freely. You don’t have to worry about it being perfect, you can simply write and enjoy the process. The revision and editing phase is when you’ll go back and make it perfect.
Editing And Revising – Why It’s Necessary and What to Look For
Once your first draft is written, do something nice for yourself. Celebrate the accomplishment. You’ve written a book! That’s a tremendous accomplishment. Once you’ve taken a day, or two, to enjoy the glow of success, it’s time to get back to business. It’s time to edit and revise your book.
Here are a few steps and tips to consider as you create your revision process.
Create a structured system – Establish a certain number of pages or a specific amount of time that you’re going to read, edit, and revise each day. For example, you might edit 10 pages a day or spend an hour editing. The editing process can be unpredictable. Some days you may get through many pages and other days you may only make your way through one.
Read it though first – Read your book through first and make notes in the margins. Look for “big picture” things such as character consistency and plot rather than focusing on misspellings or confusing sentences.
Revise – After you’ve read through and made notes in the margins, go through and revise those sections. Again, some sections may take longer than others. It depends on the revision level that is necessary.
Edit – Once you’ve made your big picture revisions, consider going through your manuscript and cleaning it up. Make your sentences clear and easy to follow. Correct misspellings and grammar errors.
You may also consider hiring an editor to manage this step for you. A professional editor can cost anywhere from $500 to $1500 depending on their skills, experience, and the amount of time it takes them to edit your book. Some charge by the page, some by the hour. However, they may be able to do a better editing job than you, which can improve your sales. And you can use this time to start increasing the marketing for your pending book.
If you have published a book before, do you have any additional advice for fixing a cruddy first draft?
You can read the other articles in the series here.
Y\Your First Draft is Cruddy and What You Can Do To Fix It