Finishing a draft for the first time (or even the third time) is like…breathing in fresh, mountain air; like winning 1st place in Mario Kart, or watching your infant eat real food for the first time, or take their first steps. It’s amazing!
Then comes the process of editing. Sometimes, if you’re lucky and have the money, you can send it off to a pro editor to take care of the chaotic jumble of words you hope to someday produce into a masterpiece. If you can’t exactly afford an editor, or you’d like to polish it up before you send it off, you’re forced to embark into that rough, dangerous, chaotic terrain called Editing.
When I began editing my 2nd manuscript in my Second Chances series, I felt completely overwhelmed. I had no idea how to fix the many, many issues I already knew about. Until I stumbled upon this book, as per a mention from a friend of a blogger friend.
Rock your Revisions:
I should mention that there is another companion book called Rock your Plot that is written in the same style that is meant to be read before this one.
This book is inexpensive in the grand scheme of all other books on writing and editing, and it’s brief, concise, easy to understand. Learning the finer points of editing and revising is just as crucial as learning to craft a story form the beginning. There are plenty of other books on writing and editing, some focusing on specific aspects, such as character building, or plot building. This one is perfect to use when you want to do an overall sweep through your Manuscript.
This is also a book I would go back to again and again, for each new project. Even when you think you have nailed down the process of editing, you still might want to go back and use it as a reference. The author takes a holistic approach – you begin by looking at your manuscript as a whole, and you break things down as you go, so that you’re not wasting precious time. For example, instead of going in and killing all of the dead words that plague your manuscript (some of mine include, very, suddenly, even, really,) the author suggests making an outline, going scene by scene, double checking the necessity of each scene, and eliminating scenes that aren’t necessary. Therefore saving you a huge chunk of time.
As I mentioned, I felt overwhelmed and frustrated when I sat down to try and edit my second book in my series. Reading through and following the exercises in this book helped to reduce my stress and gave me a clear picture of how to turn my manuscript into something other people will want to read.
I think I’ll definitely check this book out! Thanks for the suggestion 😀