Have you ever opened up a document full of comments and tracked changes and wondered where to begin? Even when you’re excited to jump in, revisions aren’t always a linear process, and that can sometimes feel overwhelming. Here’s the system I often use when I’m ready to start revising—and especially if I’m feeling stuck.
In this post, I talk about the editing process, but these tips are equally applicable to working with beta readers and critique partners (and even to other types of writing!).
Remember: this is just one approach. If it helps you, that’s great! If it doesn’t, then do what works for you. There are plenty of paths to get you to a finished book.
Four stages of revision
Start with the easy yeses
I like to begin by making any change that’s an easy yes: in other words, an edit that I want to make and that’s quick to do.
Often, these are sentence-level revisions, such as rephrasing a word or changing a bit of narration to dialogue. They could also be simple structural changes like moving or deleting content.
The definition is personal. The goal is to make your life easier, so what feels quick and easy to you is all that matters here.
Continue to the easy nos
After you incorporate the simple edits that you liked, it’s time to reject any edits (or delete any comments) where you are 100% certain that the suggestion isn't the right fit.
Editing is a partnership, not a list of demands. It’s okay to disagree with your editor, and it’s okay to reject a suggestion or take a different approach. There’s more than one way to write a story, and more than one way to correct most issues.
At this stage, I do not reject any edits I’m unsure about—or any that make me frustrated. Perhaps that’s surprising! But frustration suggests an emotional reaction to the edits. To me, there’s a difference between a suggestion where I think, Oh, that’s weird; that doesn’t fit at all with what I wanted here, and one where I think, They simply don’t understand how great this part is!
It’s very common for the first reaction to an edit to be emotional and defensive. This can be especially true for writers who are new to having their work critiqued, but even as an editor, I sometimes feel defensive about readers not “getting” my story. That’s why it’s important to take a break to simmer and process. When you receive edits, first read through them, and then … do nothing. Take a few days off, think about all the ideas, and come back to your document refreshed and ready to work.
Once you’re back in your story, it can be helpful to hang on to some of those suggestions that initially frustrated you. They might surprise you as you get further into your revisions.
Above all, remember that it’s always okay to reject an edit, but if you find yourself rejecting most or all of the edits, then it’s time to step back and evaluate the situation. Does it seem like your editor isn’t the right fit and you need to bring in someone else instead? Is it possible that you’re hanging on too tight to your original draft and you aren’t open to hearing reader’s feedback? (Everyone can benefit from feedback!)
Related: How to Choose an Editor
Address the complicated yeses
The complicated yeses are ideas that you like, but that will be more time-consuming to incorporate. Maybe your editor sparked an idea about characterization, but you need to think about how to work it into your book. Maybe you want to make some structural changes that will need a lot of attention to make them seamless. Perhaps you’re torn between two ideas and you want to test them both out.
With some of the simpler edits out of the way, you can dive in to these exciting revisions without feeling bogged down by little adjustments.
Revisit the complicated nos
By the time you’ve done all of the above, you’ll be left with the ideas that you weren’t sure about (or that you had a strong emotional reaction to). But now, you’ll have a clear head and a clean document to look at as you consider how you want to proceed.
You might find that some of these edits have transformed into ideas that you like after all.
You might find that a suggestion doesn’t resonate with you, but it does point to a deeper issue that you want to address in a different way. (You don't have to agree with how an editor thinks you should solve a problem, but it's always worth considering why they might be feeling like there's a problem.)
And at the end of the day, you might find that you still don’t like a particular suggestion. That’s fine. Toss it out!
And then celebrate! You’ve finished a round of revisions!
Combining the steps
In practice, these aren’t always isolated steps. The complicated sections in particular can have a ripple effect on other possible edits. You might need to play around with multiple approaches to see what works. If you feel nervous about it, you can always save a copy of your document to use as your test file!
No matter what, the important part is that you finish your book the way you want.
This system works for me. What revision system works best for you?