I finish my second draft tomorrow. I started over with a blank page and using my first draft as a reference, threw out at least 50%. My approach to the revision process will definitely be Big to Small but I'm actually reviewing every video you've produced on the writing process, Alyssa. I have 6 beta readers and roughly a dozen of your writing videos. So, two videos, complete all those steps, then send to a beta. I'm saving my two most meticulous beta readers until the end of the editing process.
These days I do my first line-edits using Pro-Writing Aid after each chapter is done. This saves me time later. I use a voice-reading app to listen to the first draft. I set aside a number of chapters to review, and I take notes on paper for the fixes. Next, I unleash the draft on my beta-reader, and wait for feedback. I fix the things things we agree upon first, and see what else needs revision after the fixes. Then I do another complete line-edit, and listen to the new draft while taking notes. Usually by the third draft I have a solid enough manuscript I'm comfortable querying. Revision is fun, most of the time, but always challenging. There's always something you love that you need to cut. I look at the process the same way I feel after walking out of a movie that under-performed, and ask why the story didn't go in this direction, and why didn't we get more of this character, and what was the villain's motivation? I found asking those same questions about my story go a long way.
I just started on draft 2 of my fantasy novel for NaNoWriMo! My big thing right now is rewriting the first 5 chapters because I wrote them about 6-7 years ago, whereas the rest of my story was written during the pandemic. It's been interesting seeing the difference between my writing in my early 20s vs. my more recent work.
I noticed something really similar. I took a hiatus from painting and came back to it when when I was about 25. It was bizarre that even going years without practising the skill, it was so much easier. I was intuitively doing things that I would have had to consciously incorporate before. With writing, while we would have read so much more, and have gained experience, and talked to a greater variety of individuals, we should also factor in that during that time our brains were still exponentially forming pathways and continuing to develop.
I had the exact same thing happen, I wrote the first two chapters when I was like 19, and last year I returned to it and changed everything, I couldn’t believe the writing decisions I made lol
It sounds like what you are talking about can be solved with a good outline and pre-planning stage. Changing big picture items later, I find is much harder a task and I can't imagine that's much fun. It's basically a page 1 rewrite if you get too many notes to change because the big scene or plot elements are tied to the "bones" of your story and are all connected. Changing those major elements later is a much harder task than changing them in the outline when you are in the design phase, conceptualizing the story from a high level. I have learned that pre-visualizing the story with just the main plot points ahead of time (outlining in your head or on paper) can save you a lot of time later in revisions editing. All in all good advice when stuck however!
Thanks for the video. I finished my manuscript around a year ago, and I've done a couple rounds of edits since then. However, I wasn't completely happy with it. I recently decided to change it from an omniscient 3rd person narrative to a close 3rd person one, and that has turned into a major undertaking. At first, I thought I would just need to add some italicized thought sentences, but it was much more in depth than that to the point where I can spend 2-3 hours revising a single page (500 words). In reference to your video, I guess you'd say I'm using the chronological technique with my revisions.
I changed my book from close third person to first person and decided to rewrite it from scratch. I still had my outline and it made it so much better! I agree some pages can take over an hour while others can be several pages in an hour in regular revision.
@Emm good luck with the revisions. I've got about 20 pages left to revise in my manuscript now. Finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. What do you think is the most challenging part of your revisions?
I just finished my fifth draft. I rewrote it four times and just finished going over all the big and small changes together. I am very disciplined because I only have a few hours a week combined to work on it so I can’t waist my time. I printed out my whole book, put it in a three ring binder, then did all my edits in blue pen. I had extra pages for tweaking my maps and writing revision notes that I still needed to think through. As well as using sticky notes if a page really needed more changes right there. Now when I start to put it onto the computer, I will be fixing any minor changes that I missed. It’s so exciting and I can’t wait for my beta readers to give me feedback.
I’ve been tinkering around with all three! Ultimately it’s indecision on what direction to take the characters that’s holding me back. Thanks for such great content!
I am not finished my manuscript but I find that as I begin each new chapter it takes some period of time to find the correct path through the sub-plot each chapter represents. Sometimes that process requires rewrites and editing that cover every technique covered in this video. Very helpful, thank you.
I have faced the same challenges but when I heard the advice to write a note like this [TK - here is my revision note] then I can keep writing as if I already made the change. It made my writing go by so quickly and then I knew what to change when I first went over the revision. I also used the technique to write a sentence for the next five scenes helped me a lot. Happy writing!
@@emm6724 Since my posting of four months ago, I have begun a system of rolling edits that is working well for me. When each new chapter is complete, I roll back and edit a previous one following a formula which leads to a final edit after two rough ones. This keeps me moving forward. My novel is broken into four 'books'. When an entire book is complete I take the time to reedit it in its entirety. It sounds cumbersome but I am much happier with the results then I previously have been.
Yes, thank you A. I'm doing pre-pub work now. My book is almost unrecognisable from its original outset years ago. Yes a book needs a spine to support the surrounding mini structures. A strong spine to carry the plot through. And you've got to hold on to your core inspirations. Don't lose the essential you. The beautiful uniqueness of your own soul.
I'm on my first draft of my science fiction novel, but it's on hold until I sit the Bar exams in early December. Hopefully I'll get it done in the first half of next year! Thanks as ever for your advice. I think I'll be going for an amalgam of strategies 1 and 3 - Top down major revisions/structural changes, then reading it from end-to-end with a worm's eye/reader's view so I can pick out inconsistencies that way.
I've finished my first draft too. It needs a rewrite because IMO I'd not made it sufficiently immersive. That needs to wait though. I'm still in the head space of my doctoral work until the dissertation I submitted gets final approval.
I have finished my first draft and sent it away for an assessment. My assessor was mostly positive but said that the ending was rushed. I take what he said seriously but I am stuck on trying to find a logical and satisfying solution to the situation my main characters find themselves in. In my draft, they were rescued by someone but he said that it was too convenient and was Deus ex machina. My characters are in a real fix so I need to come up with a convincing solution. Otherwise it's about tying up loose ends such as what happened to a character who goes off and isn't mentioned again. What happened to him? I have some thinking to do.
Great video. I'll repeat that I'd love to see you do a book or several books. On my current project, I've done all of these, but I tend to lean most on the chronological. My way of dodging the rabbit hole is to make notes about changes that occur somewhere other than the scene I'm working on, and chase them down, either at the end or when I feel I need a break from grinding through scenes. I also capture some big-picture edits when I do this, and when I kick back and read my book. The struggle for me in the revision process is knowing when I've done everything I can. The advice to make my book as strong as possible can be a trap because it can always get better. The challenge for me is knowing when to let go and move on to the next project.
I can definitely relate to your comment. I worked much like you on my first novel and have finally put it aside to write my sequel. But I still return to my first novel at times. Meanwhile I send out about 10 queries a month. Since timelines of events must coincide, I use chronological editing most.
Great advice. Thank you, Alyssa! I'm glad I found you here. Also, great info on your website. I signed up for your download and newsletter but haven't received anything yet. I signed up twice over two days and checked my spam. Just letting you know in case you're having issues with your email server. Anyway, thanks again!
Thank you so much for this video. I’m working through my 10th (?) full draft, and sometimes I just need to be reminded what works. I toggle between all three of these so I don’t lose my mind. 😂
I smash the first and third strategy together. I work in chronological order, but I do a first pass on big picture edits and try to ignore the small (unless the brain comes up with something brilliant, then I'll make the change) and then I do another pass to clean up the sentence level stuff.
I'm definitely in the big to small camp. Of course, I also do much of that as I'm writing the first draft. (E.g., the character needs to do X here but that needs to be set up by Y a chapter or two earlier.)
I'm releasing mine as a serial on my website so each chapter gets the editing/revision treatment as I go rather than covering the whole novel at once. There will be a final revision/edit once the story is complete before it is released as an eBook/physical book, but that will essentially be more for minor changes and edits as it will be a final draft at that point.
My revision process following the 1st Draft - 1) Begin with the big, structural concerns, 2) Gather and insert any missing content from my various notes (desirable material that I overlooked during the writing of my 1st Draft), 3) Integrate descriptive and sensory details, 4) Line and paragraph edits. That's the short summary.
Hi Alyssa, I have a question for #askmeanything. For a small, reputable press, does it mean more distribution power if they have a distribution agreement with a big 5 house? Or does it ultimately just come down to the number of books on the print cycle, regardless of available distribution channels? Thanks !
hi Alyssa! how long do you recommend for letting drafts "rest" before going into revisions? some of my friends only do a few days to a month, but then i've also heard other authors do 4-6 months. any input from you (or the community) would be very helpful!
Using the first revising strategy I've done a major overhaul of a familly epic twice, deciding to begin in the present rather than two hundred years ago. The book is richer and the story ultimately will hang together better. But I still dislike the opening. I'm afraid that starting in the present and looking back we meet characters from entirely different eras within the first two chapters and I don't know if the premise works. Lately I'm thinking the manuscript should be two books rather than one and think I've found a natural break to make that happen. I need a development editor if anybody has a good recommendation.
I’m in the process of my first draft. It’s for a book in a mix between science fiction and fantasy - yes, I know it’s a big ask. 😂 I would really like an editor to go through it and help with the conceptual aspect of it. I know you, Alyssa, are not specifically a sci-fi or fantasy editor. Do you know of anyone in your field who is?
To be honest, this is the first time I completely disagree with you. No. 2 and No. 3 are objectively inefficient ways to revise. Contrary to drafting, where it's...do what works for you, I feel like there *is* a right way to revise, at least relatively speaking, and that's big to small. Yes, you can do No. 2 and No. 3, but spending too much time on something you may have to ultimately delete because it's structurally useless, is only going to make you more attached to those scenes which will make it harder to let go of them...not to mention the massive amounts of time you're going to be wasting. To be frank this is the very first time I've heard that editing small to big is somehow equally valid to the other way around.
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I finish my second draft tomorrow. I started over with a blank page and using my first draft as a reference, threw out at least 50%. My approach to the revision process will definitely be Big to Small but I'm actually reviewing every video you've produced on the writing process, Alyssa. I have 6 beta readers and roughly a dozen of your writing videos. So, two videos, complete all those steps, then send to a beta. I'm saving my two most meticulous beta readers until the end of the editing process.
These days I do my first line-edits using Pro-Writing Aid after each chapter is done. This saves me time later. I use a voice-reading app to listen to the first draft. I set aside a number of chapters to review, and I take notes on paper for the fixes. Next, I unleash the draft on my beta-reader, and wait for feedback. I fix the things things we agree upon first, and see what else needs revision after the fixes. Then I do another complete line-edit, and listen to the new draft while taking notes. Usually by the third draft I have a solid enough manuscript I'm comfortable querying.
Revision is fun, most of the time, but always challenging. There's always something you love that you need to cut. I look at the process the same way I feel after walking out of a movie that under-performed, and ask why the story didn't go in this direction, and why didn't we get more of this character, and what was the villain's motivation? I found asking those same questions about my story go a long way.
Your movie-watching analogy is a great way to approach editing! Thanks for sharing your perspective, Marc.
I just started on draft 2 of my fantasy novel for NaNoWriMo! My big thing right now is rewriting the first 5 chapters because I wrote them about 6-7 years ago, whereas the rest of my story was written during the pandemic. It's been interesting seeing the difference between my writing in my early 20s vs. my more recent work.
I know this feeling. "WHAT HAVE I WRITTEN?" haha
I noticed something really similar. I took a hiatus from painting and came back to it when when I was about 25. It was bizarre that even going years without practising the skill, it was so much easier. I was intuitively doing things that I would have had to consciously incorporate before.
With writing, while we would have read so much more, and have gained experience, and talked to a greater variety of individuals, we should also factor in that during that time our brains were still exponentially forming pathways and continuing to develop.
Great job Kat - I believe in you!
Good stuff!! Keep at it!
I had the exact same thing happen, I wrote the first two chapters when I was like 19, and last year I returned to it and changed everything, I couldn’t believe the writing decisions I made lol
It sounds like what you are talking about can be solved with a good outline and pre-planning stage. Changing big picture items later, I find is much harder a task and I can't imagine that's much fun. It's basically a page 1 rewrite if you get too many notes to change because the big scene or plot elements are tied to the "bones" of your story and are all connected. Changing those major elements later is a much harder task than changing them in the outline when you are in the design phase, conceptualizing the story from a high level. I have learned that pre-visualizing the story with just the main plot points ahead of time (outlining in your head or on paper) can save you a lot of time later in revisions editing. All in all good advice when stuck however!
Thanks for the video. I finished my manuscript around a year ago, and I've done a couple rounds of edits since then. However, I wasn't completely happy with it. I recently decided to change it from an omniscient 3rd person narrative to a close 3rd person one, and that has turned into a major undertaking. At first, I thought I would just need to add some italicized thought sentences, but it was much more in depth than that to the point where I can spend 2-3 hours revising a single page (500 words). In reference to your video, I guess you'd say I'm using the chronological technique with my revisions.
I changed my book from close third person to first person and decided to rewrite it from scratch. I still had my outline and it made it so much better! I agree some pages can take over an hour while others can be several pages in an hour in regular revision.
@Emm good luck with the revisions. I've got about 20 pages left to revise in my manuscript now. Finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. What do you think is the most challenging part of your revisions?
I just finished my fifth draft. I rewrote it four times and just finished going over all the big and small changes together. I am very disciplined because I only have a few hours a week combined to work on it so I can’t waist my time.
I printed out my whole book, put it in a three ring binder, then did all my edits in blue pen. I had extra pages for tweaking my maps and writing revision notes that I still needed to think through. As well as using sticky notes if a page really needed more changes right there. Now when I start to put it onto the computer, I will be fixing any minor changes that I missed.
It’s so exciting and I can’t wait for my beta readers to give me feedback.
I’ve been tinkering around with all three! Ultimately it’s indecision on what direction to take the characters that’s holding me back. Thanks for such great content!
Haha, I hope this video helped cut through some of the indecision! Best of luck with editing 😁
I am not finished my manuscript but I find that as I begin each new chapter it takes some period of time to find the correct path through the sub-plot each chapter represents. Sometimes that process requires rewrites and editing that cover every technique covered in this video. Very helpful, thank you.
I have faced the same challenges but when I heard the advice to write a note like this [TK - here is my revision note] then I can keep writing as if I already made the change. It made my writing go by so quickly and then I knew what to change when I first went over the revision. I also used the technique to write a sentence for the next five scenes helped me a lot. Happy writing!
@@emm6724 Since my posting of four months ago, I have begun a system of rolling edits that is working well for me. When each new chapter is complete, I roll back and edit a previous one following a formula which leads to a final edit after two rough ones. This keeps me moving forward.
My novel is broken into four 'books'. When an entire book is complete I take the time to reedit it in its entirety. It sounds cumbersome but I am much happier with the results then I previously have been.
Yes, thank you A. I'm doing pre-pub work now. My book is almost unrecognisable from its original outset years ago. Yes a book needs a spine to support the surrounding mini structures. A strong spine to carry the plot through. And you've got to hold on to your core inspirations. Don't lose the essential you. The beautiful uniqueness of your own soul.
Great and educational!! I am at the editing stage of my three books...THANK YOU!!
Good advice. I haven't heard much on the pros and cons of how to edit.
I'm on my first draft of my science fiction novel, but it's on hold until I sit the Bar exams in early December. Hopefully I'll get it done in the first half of next year!
Thanks as ever for your advice. I think I'll be going for an amalgam of strategies 1 and 3 - Top down major revisions/structural changes, then reading it from end-to-end with a worm's eye/reader's view so I can pick out inconsistencies that way.
I've finished my first draft too. It needs a rewrite because IMO I'd not made it sufficiently immersive. That needs to wait though. I'm still in the head space of my doctoral work until the dissertation I submitted gets final approval.
@@moshecallen it's a juggling act. What's your book about, may I ask?
I have finished my first draft and sent it away for an assessment. My assessor was mostly positive but said that the ending was rushed. I take what he said seriously but I am stuck on trying to find a logical and satisfying solution to the situation my main characters find themselves in. In my draft, they were rescued by someone but he said that it was too convenient and was Deus ex machina. My characters are in a real fix so I need to come up with a convincing solution. Otherwise it's about tying up loose ends such as what happened to a character who goes off and isn't mentioned again. What happened to him? I have some thinking to do.
Endings are definitely a beast to edit. Best of luck, John!
Great video. I'll repeat that I'd love to see you do a book or several books. On my current project, I've done all of these, but I tend to lean most on the chronological. My way of dodging the rabbit hole is to make notes about changes that occur somewhere other than the scene I'm working on, and chase them down, either at the end or when I feel I need a break from grinding through scenes. I also capture some big-picture edits when I do this, and when I kick back and read my book.
The struggle for me in the revision process is knowing when I've done everything I can. The advice to make my book as strong as possible can be a trap because it can always get better. The challenge for me is knowing when to let go and move on to the next project.
I can definitely relate to your comment. I worked much like you on my first novel and have finally put it aside to write my sequel. But I still return to my first novel at times. Meanwhile I send out about 10 queries a month. Since timelines of events must coincide, I use chronological editing most.
Great advice. Thank you, Alyssa! I'm glad I found you here. Also, great info on your website. I signed up for your download and newsletter but haven't received anything yet. I signed up twice over two days and checked my spam. Just letting you know in case you're having issues with your email server. Anyway, thanks again!
Thank you so much for this video. I’m working through my 10th (?) full draft, and sometimes I just need to be reminded what works. I toggle between all three of these so I don’t lose my mind. 😂
You're so welcome! Good luck with your novel revisions!
I smash the first and third strategy together. I work in chronological order, but I do a first pass on big picture edits and try to ignore the small (unless the brain comes up with something brilliant, then I'll make the change) and then I do another pass to clean up the sentence level stuff.
I'm definitely in the big to small camp. Of course, I also do much of that as I'm writing the first draft. (E.g., the character needs to do X here but that needs to be set up by Y a chapter or two earlier.)
I'm releasing mine as a serial on my website so each chapter gets the editing/revision treatment as I go rather than covering the whole novel at once. There will be a final revision/edit once the story is complete before it is released as an eBook/physical book, but that will essentially be more for minor changes and edits as it will be a final draft at that point.
My revision process following the 1st Draft - 1) Begin with the big, structural concerns, 2) Gather and insert any missing content from my various notes (desirable material that I overlooked during the writing of my 1st Draft), 3) Integrate descriptive and sensory details, 4) Line and paragraph edits. That's the short summary.
Very nice 🙂🙂🙂
Hi Alyssa, I have a question for #askmeanything. For a small, reputable press, does it mean more distribution power if they have a distribution agreement with a big 5 house? Or does it ultimately just come down to the number of books on the print cycle, regardless of available distribution channels? Thanks !
Big... then Chrono... then Small!
hi Alyssa! how long do you recommend for letting drafts "rest" before going into revisions? some of my friends only do a few days to a month, but then i've also heard other authors do 4-6 months.
any input from you (or the community) would be very helpful!
Using the first revising strategy I've done a major overhaul of a familly epic twice, deciding to begin in the present rather than two hundred years ago. The book is richer and the story ultimately will hang together better. But I still dislike the opening. I'm afraid that starting in the present and looking back we meet characters from entirely different eras within the first two chapters and I don't know if the premise works. Lately I'm thinking the manuscript should be two books rather than one and think I've found a natural break to make that happen. I need a development editor if anybody has a good recommendation.
I’m in the process of my first draft. It’s for a book in a mix between science fiction and fantasy - yes, I know it’s a big ask. 😂 I would really like an editor to go through it and help with the conceptual aspect of it. I know you, Alyssa, are not specifically a sci-fi or fantasy editor. Do you know of anyone in your field who is?
Reedsy is a website that many other editors advertise on, and you can search by genre!
First!
To be honest, this is the first time I completely disagree with you. No. 2 and No. 3 are objectively inefficient ways to revise. Contrary to drafting, where it's...do what works for you, I feel like there *is* a right way to revise, at least relatively speaking, and that's big to small. Yes, you can do No. 2 and No. 3, but spending too much time on something you may have to ultimately delete because it's structurally useless, is only going to make you more attached to those scenes which will make it harder to let go of them...not to mention the massive amounts of time you're going to be wasting. To be frank this is the very first time I've heard that editing small to big is somehow equally valid to the other way around.