An All-Around Guide to Editing and Revising

I am of the opinion that, just like writing, there's no one "right way" to revise a novel. You have to experiment with different methods until you find the right one for you. There are, however, a wealth of tips and tricks out there on the Internet and in your local bookstore that can help you piece together your very own, special-as-a-snowflake method.

First of all, there are two books I read in preparation for my current revision that are really shaping how I think about my work. They are:

Self-Editing for Fiction Writers: How to Edit Yourself Into Print, by Renni Browne and Dave King

This one covers nearly all the bases, attacking all those bad habits that you indulge in during your first draft. Which is all well and good, because that's what first drafts are. But in the editing process, you have to let your strict, be-spectacled taskmaster out of that closet you shoved him into six months earlier. Browne and King show just how to really let that taskmaster roll, right down to examples from both classic and contemporary literature to which they apply their own principles. The authors also offer exercises at the end of each chapter, so the reader can practice what (s)he's learned.

Tips:

• Take notes. As I read, I got so overwhelmed by all the wonderful and pertinent advice that I feared I might forget something. I made sure to capture on paper all the bits and pieces that I knew were my worst offenses. And before each editing session, I review those notes so that each important point is stuck in my head.
  

• Invest in several colors of highlighters. For each "no-no" that they outline, they advise going through your manuscript and highlighting each offense you've committed. I plan to do this on my second pass of Grim Light, after I've caught all the basic stuff. I fully expect to emerge on the other side with a very, um, colorful manuscript.

Spunk and Bite: A Writer's Guide to Bold, Contemporary Style by Arthur Plotnik

This book takes everything you learned from Elements of Style--you have read Elements, right?--and tells you just when to use or disregard all those time-honored bits of advice. It's true, many years have passed since the first publication of the hallowed Writer's Bible, and it's also true that--gulp--much of the advice contained therein doesn't always apply anymore. Go ahead, purists, throw your hats and rotten tomatoes and shoes at me. But it's all a matter of knowing when to follow the path that was laid out decades ago, and when to veer off in a new direction. This book, I hope, will show you the way.

Tips:

• Again, take notes. It can be overwhelming at times.
  
  
• Be prepared for some serious hits to your ego when you realize that it'll take a long, long while before you can successfully apply a lot of the advice in this book. It'll take some serious creativity and brain-stretching, but it'll be worth it. I'm not there, yet, of course--not anywhere near there--but I can see the payoff already.

Websites:

I've covered some of these before, but they all bear repeating. And there are a few new additions, as well. All very valuable.

Holly Lisle: How to Revise a Novel

This really helped streamline my editing process, both physically and mentally.

Holly Lisle: One-Pass Manuscript Revision: From First Draft to Last in One Cycle

Again with the streamlining.

Tess Gerritsen: The Second Draft

What to look for when you're editing.

Tia Nevitt: Word for the Novelist: Revisions, Part ONE and Part TWO

This is part of Tia's very informative and helpful Word for the Novelist series. She's a super-power-user of Word, and seems to know every facet of this complex application. If you use Word, I highly recommend perusing both the Revisions section of this guide, as well as the guide as whole. Links to each section can be found in her sidebar.

So that, my friends, is the complete list of all the elements that have shaped my revision process. Read, bookmark, and give them a try. And if you have any other links or recommended books, feel free to share in the comments, and we'll add to the list!

P.S. And if you're beyond the revision process at this point and on the hunt for beta readers, Absolute Write is launching a beta-matching project on December 25, although you can sign up for it right now.

Happy revising!

A Glimpse of the Top (as it topples ...or not?)

I'm by no means an expert on the publishing industry. Heck, I'm not even in the publishing industry, really. Just trying to be.

But considering how much time I spend on that "trying" part, this article was really fascinating (the original, split up into 9 pages, in case the first link is expired). Found via boingboing, so probably the rest of the (internet) planet has read it already, but just in case you didn't. Also, Cory Doctorow's comments on boingboing, about what the article missed or ignored altogether, were pretty insightful.

I'm very much on the outside of this article, so it's easy for me to sit back and say, "Well, it should be interesting to see what happens." Which is, of course, my only choice, since I'm just little ol' me in little ol' PA, writing my little ol' books...

...but I still get kind of nervous, just because this is the industry I've always dreamed of being a part of, and I want it to stay alive, dammit! Which I'm sure it will, in some form or another. The question right now is, what form will that be?

I don't think anyone has the answer for that.

A Fun Way to Spend an Hour (No, Not *That*)

Listening to: Dispatch, "Riddle"

Let me point ya'll to this (Note: it may take a few moments to load, the site seems pretty bogged down). It's a vocabulary quiz that donates 10 grains of rice to a hungry person for every correct answer. Seems pretty legit to me, and it's a good way to unwind.

Seriously, I stretched my vocab muscle and donated 300 grains of rice last night. This is sheer brilliance.

One Year

Listening to: Me First & The Gimme Gimmes, "Save the Best for Last" (Anyone else think it's awesome that a band is able to make a living and a name from being, essentially, a cover band?)

Hey! Today's the one year anniversary of my very first blog post. It's a Blogiversary! And my very second blog post was that very same day, and included pictures of cows! Not to mention my gorgeous rose. So pretty. *Sigh*...I miss my rose.

So, year in review, in case anyone cares...or is very, very bored:

In July, after posting about who I am and blessing the world with pictures of cows tramping up my street, I waxed sentimental about hometowns. In August, I told a story about getting lost in the woods, then went traipsing through them once again (and posted a slideshow of it!).

In September, I talked about writing and self-doubt. And not much else, since I faltered a bit with the blog that month--a whopping FOUR POSTS!

But in October....I posted the exact same amount. Whoops. When I did post, though, the topics tended to veer all over the place.

Came back with a vengeance in November, when my dentist said funny things and I finished my second novel and began editing it.

I had a lot of fun in December, from getting stuck in a dress to coming up with my next book idea (working on that now) to getting Crapometered to nearly getting killed by my cat. Looking back, it's a miracle I survived to ring in 2007.

In January, I accepted that I should write what I enjoy, no matter what my friends and family think.

February was busy, what with considering the permanent move to Virginia and then deciding against it, which was full of its own little ironies. Funny to look back on that, now.

I started the third novel for the third time in March, and that one stuck. I also heard voices and fell in love with my protagonist's love interest (trust me, it didn't last). Then I went bowling and enjoyed some "local color". Then I went to the premiere of a movie I was in and cursed Canada, all in one post. Oh, and FLOWERS AGAIN!

April was a roller coaster ride--I got a gorgeous bike for my birthday, then hurt my back on my first ride..mourned the loss of one of America's greatest literary voices...decided to move to Virginia temporarily...wrote about cat games...and ran in circles trying to perfect my query letter.

What was May like, you ask? Well, there's not much from May to link to, because I was too busy moving to blog. Oh, and I won not one, but TWO awards for my writing, but I took down the post about them so that potential agents can't connect my query letter with this blog. Hurray, pseudo-anonymity!

Despite the sweltering temperatures in June, I managed to send out my first queries for book two, bake birthday cookies, have some Virginia adventures, and post cat pictures.

July's been interesting--oh yes, it certainly has--but I think I'll review this July on my two year blogiversary.

Wonder where I'll be then, and what I'll be doing? I certainly didn't expect many of the things that have happened since I started this blog--Virginia, writing awards, my bike--so who knows what might happen between now and July 26, 2008?

I guess I'll just have to wait and find out.