Tips For Revising Your Manuscript by Laura Backes, Children's Book Insider
Revision is an intricate and important part of
the writing process, and one which many writers would rather
ignore. After the initial excitement of finally finishing your
book, the thought of going over the manuscript again and again
can seem tedious. But books that have not been carefully revised
will almost always be rejected, so spending the time now can save
you frustration in the long run.
An editor will read a promising manuscript
several times, first looking at the whole story and then at the
details. Your revisions should follow the same pattern. The
following are tips to help you make the most of your rewrites.
1. Put the manuscript away. The most
useful thing you can do, upon completing your manuscript, is to
set it aside for at least a week and start on something else.
Once you've put some distance between yourself and your work,
you'll be better able to read it again with an objective eye.
2. Read the whole book from start to finish
in one sitting. Don't make any changes now, but jot notes to
yourself in the margins of the manuscript if anything pops out as
needing work. With this reading, look at the whole story. Does
the beginning grab the reader? Does the action flow smoothly from
chapter to chapter? Did you leave out important details that the
reader needs to be able to follow the story? Is the ending
logical and satisfying? Now go back and revise these big
structural points. Repeat Steps 1 and 2 until you're satisfied
with the overall story.
3. Cut, condense and tighten. Once you
have the major elements of your book in place, you're ready to
cut. Almost every book is overwritten in the early drafts. Look
at long scenes and see where you can eliminate unnecessary
details to keep the action moving. Condense lengthy passages of
dialogue down to the essential elements. Replace two words with
one, especially with verbs (plodded to school has more
emotional weight than walked slowly to school). With
nonfiction, check if you've repeated points over and over. The
hardest thing to do as a writer is to cut, but if you can learn
to sacrifice individual words, sentences, even chapters for the
good of the whole book, you'll find your job is much easier.
4. Look at the details. Now you're going
to go through the book, paragraph by paragraph, and fine-tune
your prose. Even if you're sure the opening scene grabs the
reader, can the first sentence be improved? Does something happen
in the last paragraph of each chapter that makes the reader want
to turn the page and see what happens next? With picture books,
do your descriptions create strong, specific visual images? Does
each sentence of dialogue move the story forward or give insight
into the personality of the speaker? Can you add details to
nonfiction that make the topic more relevant to your readers'
lives, such as analogies or humorous examples? This is the step
where you work to make your writing as good as it can be.
5. Watch out for weak spots. Know where
your weaknesses are as a writer and learn to spot them in your
manuscript. Punctuation (especially in dialogue) is a problem
with some writers. Others overuse vague adjectives and adverbs
(words like very, little and big rarely add to a
description -- instead, use specific terms that create an exact
picture in your readers' minds). Be aware of words you use over
and over; common ones are seemed and would (would
go instead of went). Finally, make sure you as the
author remain invisible. Avoid speaking directly to the reader (And
what do you think happened next?) or giving your opinion of
your characters' actions (Jake wisely decided to call his
mother). It's up to your readers to label your characters'
behavior as right or wrong.
The editor who reads your manuscript will
appreciate the time you take to revise. And you'll appreciate it
when you get an offer for a publishing contract.
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