Editing & Revising. The last thing you want to do after writing a whole book. Or you’re in the middle of writing, and you’re stuck editing chapter one, again. It’s an important process to talk about as many classes focus on the art of writing. And while that’s nice and all, we need to understand how to evaluate our work without invalidating our efforts.

It’s necessary and sometimes an addiction for those who are editing chapter one for the billionth time. I have gotten stuck in editing & revising countless times. I’ll be writing up a storm. Then, before I know it, I’m hunting for grammar and spelling mistakes. I’ve completely lost the scene I was actively writing.

It can get overwhelming.

How did I stop this cycle?

There is an art to editing and revising, and I had to learn for myself. The hard way. In college, it wasn’t hard to go through a paper and find small spelling errors and correct them. Punctuation errors were also easy to spot. I very rarely revised my work in its entirety except for thesis statements.

Yet, editing & revising a whole book challenged me.

It also humbled me.

After publishing my first book in February, I’ve since reevaluated how I was writing, along with editing and revising. Editing & revising are just as much a part of the craft of storytelling as writing is. And separating them when feeling overwhelmed can help.

Starting with understanding the differences between the two.

Editing Vs. Revising

Editing is the act of correcting smaller errors, like spelling and grammar, and the individual sentence as a structure. revising is what I like to refer to as ‘rewriting’ or ‘ re-imagining the scene as a whole.

The Art of Editing and Revising A Book:

Reviewing your finished manuscript can be daunting. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed with everything you should check when proofreading. I found the best way of keeping myself on track and focused is by consulting a rubric or a checklist.

Here’s a sample checklist :

• Spelling

• Grammar

• Punctuation

• Revising

• Character Names

Are the names spelled the same way throughout the story? I had two characters in my first book that I did not seem to agree on how they were spelled. It’s good to keep note of how these names are spelled. Make sure you’re consistent if you’re creating your own, so you don’t run into this issue.

• Character Arc

Are your characters staying on track with who you presented them to be?

• Scene Flow & Continuity

Does the story flow? If your story is a crime thriller or police/detective mystery, time is of the utmost importance. It’s good to check for story flow. Do the actions or dialogue of the characters move the story along or is it all static?

• Major Plot Points/ Red Herrings

Are they where you want to be? Have you planted the clues that you wanted to leave or did you give away too much? These are the questions I ask myself as an author when editing. Only I can answer these questions. My editor can’t make those decisions for me.

This checklist has come in handy multiple times.

And Remember ….

Keep your focus on one item at a time

It’s easy to feel the pressure to do everything all at once. But I learned that it’s best to break it up. One day I will focus on spelling, and then the next I make good on revisions.

One aspect I like about Google Docs is that it allows me to notate edits to make. This way, I can handle them later. I use this feature while I am proofreading for errors.

It doesn’t have to be perfect the first time (I’m saying this for myself too) that’s why it’s called a rough draft

You can always go back and revise. I know how tempting it is to edit as you write. But you must separate the two. Trust me when I say ‘just go with it’. Write it out and edit it later. Just write it.

Keep A Scene Checklist

When revising a particular scene or whole chapter, I make a list of chapters affected by this change. This is important to guarantee continuity and flow of the story. It applies whether the change is crucial to the plot or character details.

Write the story you want to read.

Write the story you’d want to read.

Conclusion

The art of revising and editing can be daunting and overwhelming. especially when writing a whole book. Stick to the checklist. Stay true to the story you have in mind. Then your book will come out fine. Just don’t get so lost in it that you don’t finish writing the book.

And just a reminder, some of the most seasoned published authors have typos. Their work came from hours of editing, revising, and curating it to the best version we know today. It’s a part of the process.

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