When I wrote this blog entry the only plan I had was to stuff my completed manuscript in a drawer and come back to it in one month. I didn't really think past that because I was still trying to process the overwhelming thought that I had actually completed my first book. I mean holy freaking cow I wrote 300+ pages of a book and I did it all by myself! That's pretty huge. Right?
My month of don't-touch-the-ms-don't-read-the-ms-leave-the-ms-alone is coming to a close. I have followed Stephen King's advice and I have left my manuscript alone for an entire month. I have managed not to look at it. I have held my flash drive in the palm of my hand and I have told myself no! Don't look. Leave it alone! And I did leave it alone. For a whole month. Talk about willpower! Man, that took some major willpower! But I did it.
In 4 days my don't-look-month will end, and I can start editing. I suddenly realized that I really do need a plan. How do I approach this? It's going to be difficult. I'm a planner. I need a plan. So I came up with this:
Step 1: Edit entire manuscript for major grammatical mistakes and glaring errors: 14 days
BREAK: 5 days ---> Why?--->So I can begin the next step with 'fresh eyes.'
Step 2: Edit entire manuscript for big stuff that's hard to see: active vs passive voice, overused words/phrases, point of view, showing not telling, etc: this part requires attention to detail and will take the longest--no time limit but I'd like to be done with it in about a month.
BREAK: 5 days
Step 3: Revise! Revise! Revise! This is the part where I cut unnecessary bits out of my story and change stuff. This part could be fun. I hope it's fun!
Step 4: Read over it. Edit revisions. Catch mistakes I might have missed the first time.
Step 5: Edit format. Make sure ms is in the correct format. Eliminate double spaces after periods (apparently you aren't supposed to do that in fictional works), etc.
I plan to give myself 3 months to complete this. Of course I'll be working with critique partners and teen focus groups somewhere in there. I'll be looking for feedback and making this manuscript that absolute best I can make it without an agent's/editor's input.
I anticipate frustration during this process. I hope my step by step plan will keep me from pulling my hair out. If you'd like to be considered as a critique partner or would like to become a new member of my teen focus group please let me know (comment here or shoot me an email at jenniferwelbornwrites(at)gmail(dot)com).
This is it people. I'm rounding home base! Okay--no I'm not. I'm rounding second and I'm running to third, but I'm making it damn it! There are a lot of next steps to go before I can round home: finding an agent, editing what the agent wants me to edit, agent finds publisher, editing what publisher's editor wants me to edit, planning marketing (I've already started on this--yep, way to count my chickens before they hatch), and probably a whole bunch of other stuff I don't even know about.
This part, however, this last bit of personal editing--this is the last part of the process where the manuscript is all mine. It's the last part before other eyes see it and before other people expect anything of it. I'm going to try to enjoy this part. I'm going to try to appreciate this last bit of the all mine stage of publication. Wish me luck!
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