How to Self-Edit Your Novel
How to turn your first draft into a polished gem
Photo by Nick Morrison on Unsplash
So you have finished the first draft of your novel. Hallelujah! You did it. That’s something to celebrate and be extremely proud of. The percentage of people that start writing a book and actually finish it is about 1%. Take that in.
When I finished the first draft of my novel I felt like was on the trip of a lifetime while it was my birthday and I met the love of my life. It felt that good. And I thought of all the unfinished manuscripts and attempts from the past too. Apparently now was the time.
What to do when you’ve finished? Take a break from your work first. At this point, you’re still fully immersed in your fictional world. Let it go. Do something else. Stephen King suggests leaving the manuscript for at least two weeks, preferably four. That way, when you start reading, you’re reading your work with a different mindset. Almost like a future reader. His book ‘On Writing’ is a must-read for any writer by the way. (Here’s what I learned from the book).
Prepare yourself for hours upon hours of editing and reading your story. But how to go about it? Devise an editing plan for yourself. Make a list of things you think need fixing. Then, decide how many rounds of editing are necessary. You can’t focus on everything all at once. If you allow yourself some structure, you’ll be more focused.
Be prepared to go over your material a lot. The first hint you’re on to something? If you keep enjoying your story with every round.
How can you go about self-editing your novel?
Create an editing plan first
What do you remember from what you have written that definitely needs to be solved? This is a great starting point. I use Scrivener for my novel and I have many notes per chapter that are reminders to my future editing self with issues to solve.
First, you need to fix the story before you can polish it. Round one is therefore for solving these issues. Round one is also for killing your darlings. Why? In a first draft, it’s common to write too much. I guarantee you that during that first round you encounter abandoned plot points or characters (those poor people!). Also, you’ll find you’ve been too elaborate or used too many details. Perhaps you encounter a subplot that doesn’t add anything to the story. Kill it.
How many rounds do you need? Some writers write 3 new drafts, some 7 before the manuscript arrives as an agent or editor. Focus on what you deem necessary. For the sake of this article, I’ll focus on three rounds.
Why create rounds? Because every round of self-editing brings a new layer to your story. It’s the best way to create more depth to your work. And if you want to do everything at once, you end up doing a bit of everything, which is a shame. Make sure you make a plan and give yourself directions.
Round 1: Sweep & Cut
As said earlier, this is where you kill your darlings and fix the story. You have to solve inconsistencies. The latter is the most important. If your story is truly broken, you might want to focus on only solving the issues.
You will have made mistakes. Subplots you might have abandoned later. You may have completely forgotten about a character or you changed course at one point and actions you initiated at the start have different outcomes later on in the story. This is normal. Even fervent plotters can’t fully determine the direction their story takes them at the beginning.
Imagine you wrote a thriller. You might have picked the culprit at the beginning, but as the story progresses, you decided someone else did it. But you already spent chapters on building the suspense and hiding clues. Now you need to go back and make it right.
This round is the time to get a broom and sweep out the mistakes and mishaps.
With my fantasy series, I build a new world full of magic. Naturally, this world became bigger and more detailed while writing the story. I changed elements. I made up different rules. Make sure it makes sense in the entire manuscript and that you’re not contradicting yourself.
If there are only some cracks in your story but no flat out holes or – God forbid – a story filled with mines, you can also use this round to cut. According to Stephen King, the second draft equals the first draft minus 10%. Now is also the time to be ruthless and cut scenes.
The first installment to my fantasy novel has 160,000 words… I managed to cut 20,000 in round one. Not bad!
Some additional checkups you can do while your manuscript lies on the operating table are:
Checking if the structure of the story works
If the themes and goals fit
Execute on notes to yourself you’ve written while writing and other to do’s
Round 2: Humanize
‘You can fail at anything, just don’t fail on characters,’ said Anne Lamott in her book ‘Bird by Bird’. How often have you abandoned reading a book with flat characters? Isn’t that the majority of what the reading experience entails? Escaping into someone else’s mind and experience the world to their eyes?
Building characters starts when you initiate the writing process. You might have made character sketches. Some writers draw their characters. Other writers print out photos of celebrities they based their characters on. I have a file with pictures from celebrities and people I know I based my characters on.
Perhaps you made a character dossier in which you answer a bunch of questions about your characters. Or you made a character plot as I did.
A character plot displays the growth of your character at the start of your story and where they are (or should be) at the end. What flaws do they need to overcome? How will they grow? What will they learn about the world and themselves and the people around them? Who and what influencers their journey. It’s a great exercise. If you want to know more about this process, I recommend Libbie Hawker’s book ‘Take Off Your Pants’. I might write a separate article about how I did it and what it can teach you.
But we’re in the editing process. At the end of writing your books, you’ve become much better friends with your characters. While at the start you’re both testing the waters and are mere acquaintances. Things change. They’ve become friends. You know them as some of your best friends. The first few chapters will probably not display that. Perhaps in about 75%, your characters are flat.
Now you know them better, re-write the character sketches you made. Add to the character plots. Perhaps you can write a monologue from the perspective of your character in one A4 to get their voice and opinions out. Examine your characters further and then use this while you examine every chapter. Bring them to life.
Take your manuscript off the operating table and start dressing it. Or at least, your characters. Open the wardrobe and mix and match. Pick the perfect outfit and matching accessories.
Round 3: Polish
You probably noticed that style comes last. I believe that the plot, setting, and characters are the most important elements of a story. At least mine.
Of course, you can attract readers with incredible prose. You can trick them with a rhythm and style that makes them anxiously turn every page or post quotes on the internet.
Now is your chance to move your fully dressed manuscript to a nice and comfortable make-up chair. Transform yourself into a stage make-up artist and make that manuscript even more beautiful than it already is. Powder, paint and dress it up.
The book ‘Self-Editing for Fiction Writers’ has been a huge help to me. Authors Renni Browne and Dave King provide you with the necessary tools to edit yourself into print.
The following self-editing tips are key in turning that manuscript into a Broadway or Hollywood star:
Eliminate the passive voice as much as possible. Your readers will thank you later. A passive voice stifles a story. It makes the story feel less important or perhaps I should say urgent. Using the active voice already says it: it propels the reader to continue reading because things are moving.
Examine every sentence and rephrase it if necessary. Put them under the microscope. How can you convey what you want to express in a simple and elegant way?
Are you telling or are you showing? You have to draw your readers in and make them feel like they are a part of your world. You can’t do this by simply telling them how it is. You need to take them by the hand and make them part of your scenes. Instead of using a lot of narration, use scenes with dialogue and inner thoughts to show the elements of your story. Show why your characters feel and do what they do. Give your reader experiences.
The importance of the first chapter and first pages. “Don’t judge a book by its cover”, people say. But we do. When a cover appeals to us the next point of sale is the summary. A sale is great, but we want people to read the entire book, right? The first chapter and especially the first pages of a book largely determine this. “The first page is the door into the book. After the cover. The first five pages have to be a good entryway into the book. ‘Tell me more! But don’t tell me too much more and don’t overload me with too much information.’” This is a quote by Margaret Atwood. During the editing process, you’ll find out if this is the case. If it’s not appealing (enough), try switching around scenes or even chapters.
How does it sound? Read your story out loud. You’re more likely to hear mistakes. You can listen if you enjoy the rhythm of your prose, etc. It works. Now do it.
You’re human, you can’t see it all. You’ve been plowing through that manuscript at least three times. Words are dancing in front of your eyes. Characters speak to you in your dreams. You won’t be able to get all the thorns out! Use apps like Grammarly and Hemingway to double-check your writing before you submit it to a friend, family member or your agent or editor.
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