Stages (or levels) of Editing Part One: Introduction

So you've finished your book, and there it is, written out or typed up in its full glory. Tears of joy and agony, sweat, dreams, and musings of the past months or even years have gone into it. Just like a new mother looking for the first time at her baby, there is a sense of triumph and wonder that blocks out any idea of faults. However, we know that, just like humans, first drafts have their faults. It makes me cringe just to think about it. Maybe you are, too.

This is where editing comes in. It takes your beautiful manuscript and turns it into something better (if you can imagine that at the time). It searches out the problems in your manuscript and fixes them.

In the writing world, you either love or hate editing. That's how writers usually view it: one or the other. Me, I love editing. It is a journey in itself, just as much as writing your book is. Editing is where you consciously look for errors and fix them, thus improving your writing as a whole.

But where to start? While staring at a 50K draft, this may seem daunting. Even the thought of rousing all the goblins of our mistakes is daunting. We don't want to have to battle against them once they're aroused.

Before doing anything, let your manuscript breathe. Take time away from messing with your book in any way for at least a week. Usually I take this time to write the next book idea that has been brewing in my mind for the last couple months. By the time I'm done writing that book, my first manuscript has rested enough so I can more easily tamper with it.

Introduction to Stages of Editing

I am finally editing the first successful book I ever wrote, after letting it sit for five years. Waiting this long seems a little over the top, but I had no idea what editing entails. I had read through my manuscript and corrected the obvious spelling and grammar mistakes, but it never got further than that. I didn't know that editing is more than just about the words on the page.

About a year ago, I was organizing my old notebooks when I stumbled upon the printed version of my manuscript that my parents had printed for me at the UPS Store. I sat down with it and flipped through, and suddenly found myself deep in the story. After so many years of thinking it was a failure, I realized now was the time. Now I had to tackle this story, once and for all.

But I was stuck. I still didn't have a clear understanding of editing. Eventually I started fixing words and descriptions and went through the entire book. As I did so, I noticed a few plot problems. That's what made me think I needed to go deeper than the wording of the story and edit the heart of the story itself.

Procrastination aside, I began work. I pulled up the digital document on Word and skimmed through, trying to find plot holes. Without knowing it, I came to the realization that editing really has several stages. A writing friend of mine said she thinks of it as building a house. Using her great illustration, here are the five stages of editing:

1. Foundation

2. Framework

3. Walls and Flooring

4. Utilities

5. Decoration

In the next few posts, I'll be sharing with you my take on the five stages of editing, and what I've learned so far. Stay tuned for the first post: the foundation.

Writers, tell me what you think! How do you view editing, and what do you think it includes?

And as always, happy writing!