How to edit a first draft
What’s next after NaNoWriMo?
Congratulations to everyone who finished NaNoWriMo last month! Whether you wrote a whole novel or just came out with more words than you started the month with, it’s an achievement worthy of celebration. In this newsletter, we’ll look at the next step – how to self-edit and get help honing those words until they’re the best they can be.
EDITORIAL: Members get 10% off all editorial services
Looking to start your new year with a clear direction on your edits? We’ll match your work with its perfect editor for a Manuscript Assessment, Developmental Edit and more.
This week at Jericho Writers:
MEMBER EVENTS: Screenplays, fantasy and sci-fi (Member exclusive)
Join us tomorrow (8 December) for Screenplays 101 with Holly Race. We also have T. L. Huchu on writing fantasy and sci-fi next week on 13 December. See you there!
TUTORED COURSES: Short Courses 2022 dates added (10% discount for members)
Heads, up, the 2022 dates for our Writing for Children course with Eleanor Hawken and our Creative Non-Fiction course with Sam Jordison are all live on our website. These online courses are run by our expert tutors and are open to writers from across the world.
BLOG: What is Copyediting?
Whether you are hoping to be traditionally published or are self-publishing your own work, a copyedit can mean the difference between a good book and a great one. Author and editor Emma Cooper breaks it down in this easy-to-read guide.
SPOTLIGHT ON: Crystal Orazu from Context Literary Agency (USA)
”What moves me above all else is simple, open, and honest writing true to an author’s wild imagination or lived experience… Perspectives that make me question the way that I or others move in the world, as well as my assumptions or opinions of societies and systems, are great.”
NON-MEMBERS – READ THE HIGHLIGHTS
SUCCESS STORY: Rosalind Tate
Rosalind Tate stumbled upon a workshop on self-pub at the 2018 Festival of Writing. Now, having successfully self-published two books in The Shorten Chronicles series, she tells us why she turned to this seemingly complicated world for more control and agency.
How to edit a book
As a messy first-drafter, I find my books are really made in the editing stage. If you’ve finished November with a messy first draft, here’s a breakdown of the stages that may lie ahead.
Step one: Read, digest, plan. Give yourself a bit of space after finishing your draft, then try to read it in one go. It can be helpful to write notes on what happens in each scene, and any large issues you spot along the way.
Step two: Restructure and rewrite. Using post-it notes or similar, re-arrange / delete / add to your key scenes until your plot works. Then open up a new document and paste in the scenes to be kept – adding those new ones as you go along.
Step three: Get feedback. When you’ve got your structure working as best you can, it’s time to bring in outside help. This can be a writing friend, or a professional editor. A Manuscript Assessment at this stage can save a lot of time later on!
Step four: Digest notes and revise. You might not want to follow all suggestions from your reader/editor and that’s completely fine. Do think about why they’ve said certain things though – usually it’s an issue with clarity. Revise your document again and pass to another friend/editor for further feedback once you’re happy.
Step five: Hone your prose. Once the structure is working, read through your manuscript again, looking at things on a sentence level. Pay particular attention to the first few pages of your book, as this is what an agent/reader will often judge you on the most. I find the ‘Read Aloud’ tool in Word really useful for this step (or you can read it aloud yourself!)
If you’re self-publishing, you may want to add professional proofreading to this list too. And if you’re traditional publishing, remember that you’ll have several edits remaining after this with your agent and then your editor. Editing really does make a book, so invest time in getting it right. And remember, there’s lots of advice in the Jericho Writers membership on editing, and we can help with professional editorial services too. You’ve got this!
Sarah J
Plus, don’t miss:
Success Stories – Call for Interviews
One of the best parts of helping writers is seeing them thrive and their projects come to fruition. If you’ve hit your goals – getting an agent, a book deal, effectively self-publishing – with a bit of help from us, we’d love to hear from you as part of our success stories blog series. Please contact our marketing assistant Esther at e.vincent@jerichowriters.com for more details.
One-to-one sessions (10% discount available)
We still have slots left to chat to top literary agents from the UK and US. Each agent or book doctor will read your work in advance of this fifteen-minute call and is a great way to beat the slushpile. You can even choose your preferred agent and date/time.
Developmental editing (10% discount available)
If you want all the rigour offered by a Big-Five publishing house, but without the contracts and confusion, we’ve got you covered. A developmental edit offers you in-text comments throughout your manuscript offering in-depth feedback on your work, and a sixty-minute conversation with your editor to get that manuscript in perfect shape before you start submitting.
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