Lesson 8: Polishing and Editing.
Here's what to do when you've finished that first draft.
After the first draft.
Structural editing.
Second Draft.
Polishing Draft.
Setting out and pro tips.
Specific level - Overview.
W.I.P. Edit and polish your book.
After the First Draft
Opinions vary about what you should do when you have finished the first draft of your w.i.p. Some authors like to read the whole manuscript through from the beginning, others prefer to let it “rest” for a while. Still others like to start rewriting and editing straight away.
Immediate Action
Your immediate action on finishing your first draft should be to save at least two copies of the complete draft. Keep one in the computer (if you’re using one) and the other on a floppy or CD. Making a hard copy is also useful. Make sure you know exactly where the finished draft is; it is distressing if you wipe it by mistake and find yourself with half of Chapter Six instead.
Reading it Through
Reading the manuscript through can be fun. Some people love to see the results of their hard work, and to bask in the satisfaction of having finished the first draft of a children’s book. Reading your own work as a reader is interesting. For the first time you see the story in its entirety, and know you have the power and the right to change anything that doesn’t please you. This is something most readers are denied. If you read as a writer you will probably start picking faults straight away. This doesn’t matter, since you still have the power to make changes.
Pros and Cons of Resting the Ms
“Resting” the ms means laying it aside for a minimum of three days and a maximum of six months to a year.
People who favour extended resting (more than three months or so) say it gives them distance from the story and lets them come to the second draft in a refreshed state of mind. Resting also gives most writers the power to see errors they didn’t notice before. Instead of reading what they assume is there, they read what really is there.
Those who don’t favour extended resting have equally persuasive reasons. Too great a distance means the subconscious of some writers will draw a line under the project and refuse to engage with it again. If your subconscious considers the job “done” it can be difficult to persuade it otherwise. The other problem is that fashions change, editors move on, imprints close and every month of resting means another month added to the (usually) interminable-seeming period before you know if your book will be accepted.
I am cautiously in favour of limited resting. It is much easier to spot errors in a ms that has had a chance to cool. I have found more than a month or so of rest to be more of a problem than a benefit, but I stress that this is a subjective point of view. All writers should experiment and see what suits them best.
Immediate Editing and Rewriting.
Immediate editing and rewriting probably isn’t a good idea. It’s too soon to see flaws, and piecemeal rewriting is usually a problem. Let it sit for a few days before you make any changes.
