The final book of my Crown Phoenix series is in the hands of my wonderful editor, “Eagle Eye” Carlie Cullen as I write this post. I call her Eagle Eye because she is extremely thorough, and if you would like to read her excellent blog on edits and editing, you can find it here.
I find there is a mental process of going through a complete edit as an author. It may not take every writer 12 steps, but this is a definite journey with the destination of a professionally presented novel at the end.
Here, in order, are the steps I go through:
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I finish the book and celebrate mightily. Hurrah! I am the greatest novelist alive!
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I realize that now I have to send the book out for other people to read. Brow begins to perspire.
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Go through manuscript and self-edit. Discover how many times I used -ly adverbs and the word “then.” Delete them all, except for the use of “drearily;” I just adore that word.
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Self-edit again, using spell check and grammar check.
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Send out for first round of beta reads. Receive feedback and make changes accordingly.
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Hire a professional editor and send out manuscript.
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Wait. Chew nails.
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Receive first round of line edits. Curse at self when I see how many times I used the word “that.” (Five times in one paragraph? Self, please.) Not to mention those exclamation points… What was I thinking?
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Make changes and send back for second round of edits. Try to convince self that manuscript is not utter hogwash.
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Receive structural edit suggestions and work on them, which is much like doing a Rubiks cube with a thousand different faces as each major change requires extensive rewrites.
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Delete entire sections and change the ending. And the beginning. And the middle.
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Send out for second round of beta reads. Repeat steps ten through twelve.
In order to go through this process and retain one’s sanity, I have found it is vital not to fall in love with your own words. Yes, feel free to adore the story and characters; I hope the love I hold for my beautiful Mana, for example, will shine through in my final work.
But if I insisted on keeping certain words and plot elements against my editor’s and beta readers’ suggestions, I run the risk of the book’s stagnation during the edits.
As I wrote the novel, I was alone in my little world. Actions and conversations unfolded in my mind, shining up on a private screen only I could see.
Once I finished, I allowed the book to “marinate” for a few weeks before I returned to it. (Yes, this is Stephen King’s idea from On Writing, and, yes, this is incredible advice.) Once I returned to it, I was able to see some plot points and story arcs made no sense.
At that point it was time to open my private world to the outside. As my beta readers and editors sent me comments, I found there were missing scenes, confusing prospective readers, as well as unnecessary action and dialogue I included, probably, because it contained the word “drearily.” (I really must wean myself from that adverb.)
If I sent it out with the firm idea set in stone: “This book rocks! And I rock. Never has a better book been written, and there are no improvements that can be made upon it” – what is the point of editing at all? Every author needs to make changes, even if her last name is Welty or LeGuin. No one is perfect right from the start.
In fact, suggestions and criticisms are amazing gifts for authors. Each time someone says to me, “I have no idea what happened here,” or “Honestly, this section was pretty boring” it opens up their little mental worlds, so I can take a glimpse inside their minds as they read my books.
To have that insight can be maddening, even frightening. But if I accept it for what it is – true suggestions coming from people who really care about what I write – I will rejoice in the feedback, even when it isn’t all Hurrahs.
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