The following was adapted by Hallie from her book, THE EVERYTHING GUIDE TO WRITING YOUR FIRST NOVEL. Thanks to Hallie for continuing her series of advice for writers!
Congratulations! You finished your first draft. Please, resist the urge to start line editing. There is so much to be done before you are ready for that level of detail. Here’s a step by step overview of what you have in store to properly address the changes needed to your manuscript.
1. Take a break while you give it to trusted beta readers to critique; you need at least a few weeks' distance
2. Talk to your reader/critics and gather their reactions; make a list of the change you think you need to make based on their comments and questions you feel you need to address
3. Print out the manuscript after you've taken a break and reread from start to finish; as you
read; add to your list of changes you think will be needed
4. Create or update a scene-by-scene outline; analyze the pacing; scope out more changes
5. Selectively read through the manuscript, leapfrogging to sections by subplot, character, and setting; add to your list of possible changes
6. Start revising, working from large to small
7. Repeat
8. Repeat
9. Only when you are satisfied with the overall shape of your story and the trajectory of your characters, line edit
10. Read it aloud to yourself; take your time, noting the needed changes, small and large
11. Do a final edit.
13. Break out the champagne
How long should a revision take? If it took you six months to write your first draft, it could easily take you half as long to revise it, and don’t be surprised if it takes even longer. The last thing you want to do is shoot your chance with the agent of your dreams by sending out your manuscript before it’s ready for prime time.
How do you know when a manuscript is finished? That is a hard question to answer. You might rely on another round of advance readers, folks who haven’t seen an earlier draft. If they read it and think it’s cooking on all cylinders, then you can assume you’re good to go.
Often new writers hire a freelance editor, someone outside of their circle of friends and family, to go through the manuscript. I did on my first several books. A professional editor will find things that you and average readers won’t, and they will see more clearly what needs to be changed in order to strengthen your manuscript. In addition, they will tune into the issues that agents and editors have with unpublished manuscripts and can help you overcome them.
No matter when you stop, it will always feel as if you could have done more. But is there such a thing as too much revision? It’s certainly possible to revise the wrong stuff. It’s just as important to figure out what’s working and not spoil it, as it is to figure out what is not working and fix it. If you’re not sure, ask a new batch of beta readers to read it for you and give you feedback.
HALLIE EPHRON (http://hallieephron.com) is the New York Times bestselling author of Never Tell a Lie, Come and Find Me, There Was an Old Woman, Night Night, Sleep Tight, You’ll Never Know, Dear, and Careful What You Wish For. Daughter of Hollywood screenwriters and the third of four writing Ephron sisters, she is a five-time finalist for the Mary Higgins Clark Award, as well as for the Anthony and Edgar Awards. She writes what she calls “women’s fiction with a twist of suspense. Creepy but never icky. I try to write books with situations that seem utterly believable. Yes, this could happen to me, I want the reader to think. And shudder.”