Is Your Manuscript Ready to Pitch (or Publish)?
Many writers set the goal to be finished with a manuscript by the end of the year. Thousands of others completed a draft for NaNoWriMo (and are now recovering).
But – How do you know when your manuscript is really ready to send out into the world?
The Total Revision Mindset
What happens when you or your beta readers or coach read through your manuscript, and you realize there are significant flaws, that mean you basically need to start over from scratch? Cue sobbing emoji.
The Complete Guide to Using Beta Readers
Once you’ve made your revisions, you’re going to want to get some eyes on the manuscript. You need people whose opinion you can trust to give honest feedback about what is working and what isn’t, so you can make any final revisions before sending it off to agents or editors.
What is a beta read?
The 10 Point Checklist for Novel Revision
This week I have set aside as a writing retreat to finally finish this draft of the Middle Grade Novel That Never Ends.
Honestly, that’s how it’s beginning to feel. I’ve got to get it out to readers soon, because I’ve lost perspective. I’ve been hammering away at it too long. This is a natural part of the writing process, but it is starting to feel like a slog. I wrote in my journal this morning, “I am so done with this novel.” But... it needs a little more work before I can send it off. The beginning, especially, is a mess.
10 Easy Revision Hacks to Make Your Manuscript Shine
As I’m going through my manuscript, even though it’s just the last draft before I send it off to readers, I’m getting nit-picky about the little things. The thing is, the “little things” are the ones that really make the difference between a polished manuscript and one that misses the mark on a lot of levels.
What to Do When You’re Stuck in Your Story
This week, I’m feeling stuck in my manuscript revision. I have some big decisions to make that will affect the rest of the story. I have ideas, but they will take the story in different directions. I’m feeling bogged down and anxious as to which direction will make the most sense and be the most interesting for the story.
Which just goes to show, even when there’s a plan for editing your book, it’s easy to get sidetracked and lose focus.
The Next Step for Revision – Create Your As-Is and Revised Story Maps
Once you’ve read through your manuscript and answered all the questions from last week’s post, you need to make a plan for actually doing the revision.
No, it’s not time to start writing yet! At this point, you’ve probably identified a bunch of issues you need to deal with. Questions to be resolved, decisions to be made, scenes to be combined/added/changed/deleted. Characters to be combined or cut. You get the idea.
5 Questions to Ask Before You Start Your Novel Revision
Phase I of revision on my novel is over - the read -through. I've read the whole thing and overall I'm pretty pleased with it (phew!). I've made notes on all the major things that need to be decided/changed/added/removed. Now comes the hard part: actually making those decisions and beginning to implement them.
The Stoplight Method for Revision, Part III: Green Light Issues
Finally, we come to dealing with Green Light issues in your draft! For the past two weeks, I’ve talked about Red Light issues (the big-picture, foundational changes you need to make) and Yellow Light issues (the somewhat complex but more manageable issues you need to resolve). Now you’re ready to deal with the stuff that will really make your manuscript shine.
The Stoplight Method for Revision, Part II: Yellow Light Issues
Last week I gave an overview of the Stoplight method for revision, focusing on the Red Light issues – the major issues you need to deal with before anything else. This is by far the hardest part of revision, since it involves looking at things like character arc and structure.
The Stoplight Method for Revision, Part I: Red Light Issues
Have you ever finished a manuscript, and wondered, Now what do I do? If so, you are not alone. The majority of writers think that revision means “go back to the beginning and start from page 1 and then edit each line.”
WRONG.