Tuesday, January 25, 2011

"Editing As I Go" Part 2 - Guest Post by Lauren Boyd

On Monday, Lauren Boyd told us a little about her experience editing her first novel. Today she's back to tell us what she's learned in the process. Thanks for being here, Lauren!

I submitted my manuscript to thirteen agents and editors in early January. I know the finished product was much better than my first draft because of that final edit.

But I bet if I went through the manuscript again today, I’d still find things I could tweak and make better.

That’s because, if you’re like me, you’ll finally have to get to the point where you feel good enough about your manuscript to make the call that you’re done. Otherwise, you could be editing it for years in an attempt to get it “perfect.”

Plus, putting a limit on how many times you edit your work is good practice for when you get a publishing contract. Because once you’re under contract on a manuscript, the publisher doesn’t give you years to write and edit the next one. Maybe a few months.

As Julie has said on her blog before, editing can require more undivided attention and unbroken concentration than writing. Now that I have had the experience of writing and editing a novel, I see what she means – and I completely agree. Editing a novel is an arduous, tedious, sometimes exhausting task. Editing a novel requires a lot of perseverance because the manuscript is so long and because every piece of it has to work together to be cohesive, to make sense, and to be believable.

In conclusion, I learned a few things while writing my first novel that I hope will help you in your writing (if you don’t already do these things). I know I’ll be doing them next time:

1.) Make a plan. Before you begin writing, figure out where you’re going, especially if your manuscript will be significant in length. Write down your ideas in whatever way helps you the most: an outline, brief notes, or a lot of information about what each chapter will include. I’m sure there are people who write well without a plan. But, as it turns out, I’m not one of them . So I’ll be making a plan next time.

2.) Fresh eyes find errors. I mean your eyes. Take a break from your writing for several hours, or pick it up again the next day. Chances are, when you come back to it, you’ll easily find things that could be better written.

3.) A second opinion is important. You might think you have a masterpiece on your hands – and maybe you do! But you would still be well-served to have at least one friend, significant other, or fellow writer read and edit it. You’ll probably be surprised at (and grateful for) the things they find. And their edits might mean more work for you, but that’s okay – because if they noticed a glaring problem when they read it, an agent or editor would, too. So you might as well go ahead and fix it now – before you submit it.

I think the bottom line is this: It doesn’t matter so much when you edit, as long as you do edit.

And by the way: As I edited my first draft, I cut and pasted material that I wasn’t sure I wanted to use into a new Word document – just in case I did ultimately decide to use it. Some of it I did indeed use.

But 16,324 words of it I didn’t.

My lesson here? I need to do a final edit – even if I think I’m editing as I go.

What have you learned from your writing and editing experiences?

Lauren Boyd blogs about writing at www.laurenspathtopub.blogspot.com. There, she offers thoughts about writing based on her own experience and research of the publishing industry. Hopefully, her musings will help you. If you enjoy her blog, please visit often!

21 comments:

  1. I agree with all your advice. And I keep a document called "extras" too. Just in case. :) Best of luck with you book!

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  2. I paste everything I cut out of a manuscript into a document I name "Darlings" because I'm "killing my darlings." My current WIP has a "Darlings" file of about 3,000 words. I'm sure there will be plenty more. :)

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  3. I appreciate you stopping by, Janet! Like you're saying, I think it's good to keep an "extras" file, just in case. At the least, it's interesting to see how many words are in that file when the manuscript is all said and done.

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  4. That's a funny way of putting it - "killing your darling!" :) Good luck with your work in progress and with your first book release in April. I'm so excited for you!

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  5. Your tip to put a limit on how many times I edit is one I needed desparately. I have a tendency to edit too much; for years even! Thank you Julie and Lauren.

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  6. I have to tell you once I send something out, even if it's to my CP I can't look at it anymore! I can't stop myself from tinkering, because I know I can always make it better. Or different. ;)

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  7. I've learned many of the same things as you, esp. the whole STOP editing thing. LOL If we don't stop somewhere, we'll never stop.
    Thanks for sharing your tips!

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  9. I know, T. Anne. After I sent out my manuscript in January, I haven't let myself look at it again because I KNOW I'll find things to make better or different, as you put so well. I appreciate you stopping by!

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  10. I agree, Jessica - if we don't draw the line and stop editing, we might never stop! Good luck with your writing, and thanks for stopping by!

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  11. Yes, Lynn - I can see how editing could easily take years. It's hard to draw the line and decide, "I'm done!" Good luck with your writing!

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  12. I am not much of a perfectionist, so this hasn't been too much of a problem for me. Usually I'm having to make myself keep looking over it! I've found setting it aside, moving onto something else, then coming back to it helps me.

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  13. These are great, great tips! I agree with you on knowing when it's done. My final step after all of the revisions is to read the book out loud, making any changes in the margins. When they're entered, I'm done for good. :)

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  14. Hi, Stephanie! That's a good idea to set the manuscript aside and come back to it later. I imagine that would help in spotting problems with the story. Thanks for commenting, and good luck with your writing!

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  15. I have a huge plan this time for editing my book. Three pages of what to go over! So I will do it in pieces and once I do all of it I will call it done and move on:)

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  16. Hey, Jill! That's a good idea you've got to read the book out loud and then make final changes. I bet hearing it reveals a lot of things that might otherwise go unnoticed. I'll give that a try next time. Thanks for stopping by Monday and today!

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  17. Hi, Terri! It sounds like you've got a good plan there for editing and deciding when to be done. Hopefully it won't take you too long to work through your three pages. I wish you much luck in finishing your book!

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  18. Editing IS everything! ALL good advice here, Lauren.

    And to Julie: I came over to meet you from Terri Tiffany's. Bonus: I also met Lauren. An interesting and informative interview!
    Ann Best, Author

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  19. Thanks, Ann, for your kind words! I really apprecite you stopping by - it's nice to meet you! :) I'm glad you found my advice helpful. I checked out your blog and see that you are in the last stages of editing your work. I wish you much luck!

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  20. Great article!! Thnx for the insights! :)

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  21. Thanks, Jaime, for stopping by! I checked out your blog -it's nice to meet you! :) I appreciate your comments!

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