How to Pwn Your Edits

For a first/second/third/whatever-number edit (where YOU are making all the edits before submitting/querying):

First, get coffee. This may seem like a trivial step, but trust me: It. Is. Vital. **Note: If you are not a coffee drinker, you will still need coffee. Tea is no good here (and I am a big fan of tea) because it is a diuretic and will cause unnecessary interruptions.**

Second, PRINT out your manuscript. We all hate to waste paper, but in this case it is justified. A lot of the time your eye will skim over the words on the screen and you will miss vital things.

Third, read your manuscript and make notes of the things that need changing/rearranging/cutting/fixing.

Fourth, open your Word/Scrivener/Whatever else and make the changes.

Fifth, read the manuscript again, repeat process several times.

For a First Edit when receiving an Edit letter/Line edit MS from your agent/editor:

First, don't panic. The pages of your manuscript may look like bleeding spaghetti squiggles, but there is a logic to it and you CAN do it. But this is not a time for you to have your neurotic, writer hat on, it's a time for you to have your tough-as-nails, don't-love-your-manuscript hat on.

Second, if you don't have your tough-as-nails, don't-love-your-manuscript hat on, then **PUT DOWN THE MANUSCRIPT AND BACK AWAY** This will save the edit MS from being torn, thrown across the room, burned, chewed, soaked and ruined with tears and drool, etc.

Third, read through the edits (and try to make sense of the squiggles). If you have not received an edit letter/summary sheet, then make a note of all the MAJOR changes in the novel. **Note: this does NOT include line edits, grammar, tenses, etc. It includes theme issues, rearranging issues, big deletions, pacing, consistency, continuity, brevity, etc**

Fourth, forget the things you just made a note of. Stick them in a drawer, or something.

Fifth, make all the line edit-type changes (inserting commas, deleting em dashes, getting rid of repeat words etc). When this is done, you will (hopefully) have a shiny, error-free manuscript.

Which means bugger all, because now you have to deal with those huge, ginormous changes, right? Well, yeah. But DON'T PANIC.

Sixth, take each big thing and deal with it one at a time. This will mostly likely mean you having to make the change and weave it through the course of the entire manuscript, and then start again with the next big thing. Sometimes you can do a number of these at the same time, but don't try to do them all. You'll only get lost in all the changes and make mistakes that will need to be corrected later.

Seventh, take a breath. Drink some coffee.

Eighth, continue. Once this is done, DO NOT ASSUME YOU ARE FINISHED. Read through the edit letter again and make sure you have gone through everything and made all the needed changes. Take your time.

Ninth, have a final read-through.

Tenth, have someone else have a final read through.

If they respond with feedback, be prepared to do the same again (if necessary).

Once you are done, you will see that the bloody spaghetti squiggles are actually legible writing that make perfect sense.

Good luck!

***Some general notes: Don't be afraid to make use of lists. Don't be afraid to color code everything. Don't be afraid to disregard certain edits until later (but don't forget about them). Always assume it's going to take a lot longer than you originally planned).***