by Sheelagh Aston

It is estimated that 97% of people who start writing a novel never finish it. So, congratulations on finishing the first draft of your MS.

Do not underestimate the achievement and enjoy the satisfaction of writing THE END.

Celebrate. You deserve it.

Now what?

You will be eager to get it out there in the world.

Here is some advice – DON’T.

Jericho Writers estimate the chance for a new writer to get an agent is 1 in 1000. The most common reason for rejecting an MS given is poor presentation or the story needs more work/editing done on it for an agent to send out on submission or a publisher to take on.

Few agents or publishers have the time or inclination to undertake several rounds of edits.

As for self-published novels. The biggest compliant by readers is many novels feel underwritten and contain grammatical errors in them.

 JK Rowling rewrote the first chapter of HP & the Philosopher’s Stone 15 times. As a writer your may find you have more in common with the tortoise and not the hare of the children’s Aesop’s fable. The tortoise took their time, did not rush, and won the race. The bragging, puffed-out hare failed to stay the distance.

Learning to be a tortoise, not a hare, is a key skill for a writer. One not often discussed at writers’ courses or conferences. Many writers simply learn via the school of hard knocks.

Developing a process for ensuring your work is the very best it can before you send it out for submission or to print takes time and a lot of patience. For many new to writing it can also be confusing – just check out the number of editing services and writing courses advertised on the internet. Yet they emphasise how important it is to take your time and get the MS up to publication standards.

It will take you time to work out a process that suits you and your budget. (if you have one) and to find people you can entrust your precious work for critiquing and editing.  What is offered below is a framework that can be done for little money and will enable you to reach a point where you can have confidence that whether you go down the traditional or self-publishing route your manuscript is the best it can be for the next stage of it journey to publication.

1. Put the 1^st draft in a drawer and leave it there for at least three weeks – longer if you can. Give yourself time to distance your giddy emotions from writing it so when you come back to it, you can look at it with a fresh eyes and clearer head.
2. Go through a hard copy with a red pen– yes it means printing and paper but it is easy to miss things when reading material on computer screen. You will catch more typos, notice issues about the overall story’s pacing, plotting and characterisation if you read a paper version. You can make notes in the margin.
3. As you go through it write a scene/chapter breakdown of the story. This will help if you need to move scenes or chapters around, check your timeline works and, if you are writing more than one POV, ensure everyone gets a turn. It can be a quick reference to locate what happens when (believe me you will get confused at some point)
4. When you have done your revision find 2-3 people who will read it (called beta readers) – not friends or relatives. Joining a writers’ group, in person or online can help this – you may have to return the favour – and this in turn will help you develop your inner-editor’s eye for your own work. There are online critique groups you can join as well. Critique.com is one. A search on Yoututbe to find writing webinars will throw up zillions on various aspects of writing including editing and critiquing that can help you. 
5. While waiting for feedback research the different types of editing in case you need one later i.e. the differences between developmental and line editing. (This is where it can get expensive – understanding the different types of editorial services will help you chose the right one for your MS and discuss your need with an editor.)
6. Clunk or Chime? – When you get all the critiques back go through each beta reader’s feedback. Note their consensus on issues with the story – plot, pacing, world building as well as what they liked. Mark up your revised copy. Put it in the drawer again to rest for a couple of weeks. You may not agree at first with their observations. It is tempting to discard the feedback. When you go through the marked-up MS with the feedback keep what ‘chimes’ with you. If something still ‘clunks’ with you either do nothing with it or ask for clarification from the person who gave it. It maybe they have mis-understood something or you have not written a scene or plot point clearly.
7. By this stage you should have a robust MS but hold back the hare inside you. Go through the MS once more (or twice) Eliminate all the ‘weasel words.’ ‘Weasel words’ are weak works i.e. adjectives, ‘glue words such as, but, just so, very. Most grammar checkers have a faculty that can help you with this.
8. Put the new revised draft back in the drawer once more. Go off and write something else. Start working on your submission package and submission list. When ready return to the MS. Do the tweaks you need to do.

What you decide to do from this point is up to you. You can start submitting to agents and publishers, get a professional editorial assessment carried out to ensure it is ready to go out for submission or you may decide to self-publish.  

Whatever you decide you will have a MS that supersedes the original version you started with, you will have grown as a writer and the next 1^st draft will benefit from what you have learnt.

Happy Writing.

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