Revising and Editing Books. This is a big part of my job as a writer entails. Have you ever wondered what revising and editing books actually looks like on the page? Well, I’m about to show you.
For the last six months, I’ve been revising a new novel based on the feedback I received from an agent at Folio Literary Agency. Whenever a writer gets quality feedback from one of the higher ups–literary agents or editors at publishing houses–it is reason to celebrate. And if they are willing to see it again after you rewrite, which she did, that is like a gift from the gods.
Here is a photo of one of my revised pages from this 314 page ( 86,000 words) novel called Temple Secrets. Some pages needed less rewriting, some needed more. It gives you a sense, perhaps, of the work writers have cut out for them even after a novel is supposedly finished.
Are you at all shocked by what revising and editing books looks like? I’m shocked and I revise all the time. As usual, I welcome your thoughts and love hearing from you.
P.S. I am an ex-shrink who writes novels. Check out my books here.
Funnily, your picture of the revising is “worth a thousand words.” These folks who write a novel in a month are just beginning (if they intend to publish something good, that is).
Thanks for sharing this. Amazing!
And from one of our lovely email subscribers:
“I had fun reading your draft, or whatever it is called by you. It is not unlike any business letters that I have had to write. Reads like it will be interesting. Congrats on “higher ups” who have an interest in it. I wonder how long it takes to write such a novel from start to publish. You have written before. If you could give me some type of time frame it would be great. No reason other than just my personal nosy. I expect the time frame to always be different? Sandra”
Hi Sandra,
Thanks for your comment! It does vary greatly how long it takes from start to finish on everything I write. Some novels take 11 years to get out there. Some take less. Mostly, they take years, not months. I hope to live long enough to get all of them out. 🙂
And from another subscriber:
“Hi Susan, I took a quick peak at a highly magnified screen so I could actually read the writing. Very detailed stuff – even ‘rewriting.’ ? How do you feel about that? Any particular reactions to some areas? Like “OK that’s probably better there, but here, it changes my voice, I do want to say it just this way!” Alexandra
A friend in Miami said she cut huge chunks out of her book “Women Don’t Need to Write” with tears streaming down her face. I have the slimmed down version – still very good. An important story to tell. Don’t know what fabulous goodies I’ve missed.”
Hi Alexandra,
Most of the time, the agent has a legitimate point, yet I still get to decide whether or not I agree. I thought these particular changes made the manuscript even stronger than it already was. The story and plot stayed the same. Great comment, by the way.
Tell. Me. About. It.
Hi Susan
The work is just beginning- that’s an understatment. As painful as the editting process can be, it’s a great learning experience. You are very lucky to get that kind of feedback
Hi Kathleen,
You’re totally right. It is a great learning experience. I’ve been writing for over a decade and it really is about learning a craft, as well as becoming an artist and telling a good story. Thanks for your comment!
All the best,
Susan
I thought revision looked more like this: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=3487439757604&set=a.3487434957484.144566.1619746788&type=3&theater
This is the sort of thing I have to do at work all the time for client communication and updating our website. Even more so as the writers are not native English speakers…
Thanks for sharing!
Hi John,
I loved the link. It made me laugh. 🙂
And Brent, thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. Since I’m a native English speaker, I hope there’s still hope for me. (Lots of hope in that last sentence!)
Susan,
Your comments came at exactly the right time. My first novel went to my editorial consultant in May. It came back with with favorable comments, suggesting I work on ‘point of view’ in some scenes. So I decided to do a line-by-line edit, and (now laughing) on my desk sits 89,000 words re-edited with each page looking exactly like yours, tabbed with stick-um notes (a few pages did not have an error or something I felt needed re-writing). It’s back at the editor’s desk for a second evaluation. Now I’m actually (oh, ly words) breathing a sigh of happiness, knowing this is the way it is supposed to go after 5 years. Hope to be published by Xmas!
Hi Sherry,
You sound like a kindred spirit. Please know you are not alone. In the meantime, I wish you great success with your book!
Here’s what a page of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein looked like:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/FrankensteinDraft.jpg
You always find the most interesting things, John. Thanks for posting it so others can see!
Susan,
I had an agent in the 1990’s who put red marks all over my manuscript, then couldn’t find a buyer and dropped me. I gave up, wrote a sequel, wrote a screenplay that failed to win the Austin Film Festival, wrote a textbook under contract only to have the publisher change ownership.
It all sat for until last year when I decided it was time to try this electronic age publishing. Very different world from when I started my own publishing company in 1989 to publish my first novel. In some ways it’s easier to promote, but there are 100 times more books competing in any fiction category. Web sites and blogs seem to be the only way to compete.