How do I start editing my novel?
I had written the first draft of my book and put it in the freezer almost 6 weeks ago. Yesterday I took it out, and after going through a first read to note my reactions, I have decided to start work on the second draft.
But it looks like a huge task- I'm not sure where to start. Should I go chapter by chapter? If so, how much editing should I do, before moving on? There is so much work to do, and I'm worried of death by analysis paralysis.... :)
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1 answer
Read through your draft. If anything catches your eye, fix it or flag it for fixing later. Fix whatever you can.
Then hand it off to a beta reader. Let someone else mark it up for problems. I find that nothing helps me to see the problems in a work faster than having an outside perspective. Then you read through your beta's notes and decide which changes to make.
You know, in your head, what you want to do with the story, but you need to know if someone else who is only reading the words on the page feels that the goal has been accomplished.
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