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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/37454
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/37454
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

## Separate concerns.

If you think of editing as "fixing everything in my novel," it's going to be a huge and unmanageable chore, and there's nowhere to begin it that will give you even a sense of progress.

Instead, **list the various aspects of the novel you want to fix.**

Plot is one aspect; fixing language is another; maybe you have a character whose voice developed and you want to rewrite now that you know them better. And getting feedback from beta readers is both (A) an aspect for you to solve, and (B) something that will give you _more_ issues to address.

**Put those aspects into a useful order.** You don't need to worry about typos in a chapter you'll be rewriting anyway. Beta feedback will be both more helpful and more enthusiastic if you clear away known major issues _first_.

Now you have, effectively, a game plan, or a concrete TODO list you can follow.

You can break it down further -- maybe your plot-change requires two new chapters, taking out frequent references to something you've changed, and putting in references to a new element that you've added. Each of those is its own task, and each one of them is pretty manageable!

You can play with the order of tasks. Start with the ones you enjoy, or the ones that energize you. Or, start with something so awful you feel it's dragging the whole book down; something you're dying to see fixed already. Do what works for you -- and cross it off the list.

## Maintain your own well-being and focus.

This is a wide topic, but I think some good suggestions for you right now are:

- Take a break from the manuscript if you need it.

- Choose a friend who can play cheerleader, who will encourage you about the book, rather than just looking for criticism.

- Critique other writers' work, in workshops or online forums; that's a great and less-painful way of getting yourself into a more editor-ish mindset.

- If you enjoy writing but not editing, then:

Original score: 8