The Revision Process: Rewriting, Editing, and Proofreading
At some point, an author needs to transition from raw writing to revisions—but it’s not always clear what the process of revision actually looks like. That’s because the revision stage involves several phases (Rewriting, Editing, and Proofreading) that, at times, overlap.
This blog post will provide an overview of the three major phases of the revision process and give you tips on how to use each one effectively.
Let’s hop to it!
REWRITING
This phase generally focuses on big-picture revision such as character viewpoint, structure, plot, narrative tense, setting, etc.
Some large-scale elements, however, can wait until the editing phase such as pacing, mood, and tone—that’s because, even though they are major elements, they are heavy influencers at the sentence level and are better managed through detailed editing.
Some writers find it’s easier to deal with big-picture elements chapter by chapter, while others prefer to take one element at a time and do a full sweep through the manuscript.
However you tackle rewriting, you’ll likely be more efficient if you wait to do it until you’ve written a complete draft. Some writers swear by rewriting scenes as they go (before actually completing a draft) but I always hesitate to suggest that method to anyone who is new to the craft.
Rewriting can easily become a crutch, a safety net. If you’re not a tried-and-true “finisher” then I don’t suggest you rewrite any portion of your manuscript until you’ve completed a first (rough) draft.
I can see you scratching your head—isn’t “complete rough draft” sort of an oxymoron? Well, yes…but also no. Always remember that books are written in phases, and each phase behaves and looks different from all the others. “Complete” is relative to what your specific intentions are for the book. That’s why it’s really important to get familiar with your expectations, your vision, and what your story is about before you even start writing the story itself.
HOW DO I KNOW IF MY ROUGH DRAFT IS COMPLETE?
That depends! This answer will vary largely on the type of story you’re writing, your experience, etc. However, if you have a beginning, middle and end in place, your central character has either succeeded or failed in reaching their story goal, and you’ve written about 50% of your total word count, then you likely have a complete rough draft.
After you feel relatively satisfied you’ve accomplished the above, then you should summarize it all in a premise statement.
WHAT IS A PREMISE STATEMENT?
A story premise is a one- or two-sentence summary of what your book is about. Ideally, you should have written some kind of premise statement before you set out to write a rough draft, and if you did, compare your new statement to your original and match everything up to your rough draft.
Likely there will be places that don’t quite fit or line up—that’s to be expected and it’s totally normal. Take the time to get clear: What is your story about? Where is it coming through with this rough draft? Where have you gone off-track?
Taking into account it’s still unfinished and there will be plot holes and loose threads and murky spots all over, can you see the general throughlines of your main conflict, your protagonist’s story goal, how the antagonist gets in the way, and what is at stake if your protagonist fails?
These main aspects belong in your premise statement. You want to distill what your book is about to these essentials:
-Who is the main character? (Protagonist)
-What does she want? (Story Goal)
-What happens to launch her onto her journey? (Inciting Incident/Situation)
-What is keeping her from getting what she wants? (Obstacle/Conflict/Antagonist)
-What must she sacrifice to get what she wants? Or, what is the worst thing that could happen if she fails to get what she wants? (Stakes)
MAKE BRIDGING NOTES
Bridging Notes are what I call anything I need to change or clarify or add to strengthen my story. They “bridge” my rough draft and my forthcoming new draft. Bridging Notes are compiled as I’m writing my rough draft and after I’ve completed my rough draft and I’m reading it through.
Bridging Notes help me explore the possibilities still to be had in my story. This is a form of Discovery that allows me to take more risks with my original ideas.
These include flagged sentences or entire passages in my rough draft; new ideas for characters, setting or conflict; research and updated research; POV character arcs: backstories for all major characters; clarified and tightened rules to my story world and magic (I write fantasy); updated my story wiki; and chapter-by-chapter summaries that I come up with after I’ve finished my rough draft and before I begin rewrites.
Had I done most of this work before I actually began my rough draft? Yup. But once I start “writing into my story” with scenes, dialogue, detail, settings, and character emotions I learn so much more about my story world and my story people. When I’m writing my rough draft, I’m taking notes along the way as the story reveals all its secrets to me.
My rough drafts are seriously rough.
But full of possibility.
I do not actively rewrite until I’m satisfied with how my Bridging Notes align with my ideal vision for the book (which is told through my premise statement). This will take several back-and-forths. My premise statement evolves as I ask deeper and tougher questions, and my Bridging Notes evolve as well.
I have to be prepared to spend quality time on writing a new premise statement that fulfills my expectations for my story. Then I take another look at my rough draft and mark all the places that drop the ball in this regard. I take notes on how I plan to fix these areas. Do research as necessary. Take more notes. Update my wiki. Check my premise statement again and see where it lines up (or doesn’t) with my new ideas. Make more notes and do more research as necessary. Keep comparing my Bridging Notes to my premise statement until they match up.
Finally, I’m ready to rewrite!
Could you go straight to rewriting from your rough draft, without doing any kind of exploration in between? Sure. If your rough draft is solid and you've got all your story ducks lined up in a row, and it’s clear sailing ahead, absolutely. Otherwise, you’re probably in for overwhelming rewriting that could kick your butt.
EDITING
This next phase of revision takes place only after you’re satisfied with the order of events, including scenes.
You may find that as you go through the first phase, rewriting, that some editing will naturally take place. That’s the overlap I mentioned above, and it’s totally normal.
However, it’s easy to get caught up in a kind of combo rewrite-edit-esque production, in which case you will make very little progress. To avoid that pitfall, anytime you’re tempted to do heavy edits when you’re still in phase 1 (rewriting), simply mark a placeholder in the text. When I do this, I typically include a brief sentence about what the placeholder is flagging, what my intentions are for that scene. And then I move on. This is a helpful hack for anyone who gets distracted by too many tasks at once and feels the impulse to do. it. all.
Where rewriting is large-scale restructuring, editing is detail work. A rewritten scene will need editing. This means diving deep into the scene and making sure it “works” on a story level, in concert with surrounding scenes. Are your characters consistent? Is your plot tracking logically? Are your descriptions evoking emotion? How does this one scene influence the scenes that follow? Are you showing where you should be telling? Does the rhythm of the sentences fit the action of the scene?
Checklists for editing are helpful, and you can easily create your own based on the expectations you have for your book. If you work with a writing group, you can share your checklists with them so they can give you appropriate feedback.
Editing, just like rewriting, will require MULTIPLE read-throughs (passes) of your ENTIRE manuscript. This will get old quickly. It’s helpful to allow yourself breaks in between read-throughs and put your manuscript aside for a week or so. Turn your attention to another creative project or simply just enjoy your time off!
There are several types of editing. Developmental, Stylistic (Substantive), and Copyediting. All three levels tackle the manuscript from different perspectives, and they should be done in the order listed above. I go into more detail about the different types HERE.
I highly, highly recommend you get another pair of eyes on your manuscript for one or more of these editing focuses. While it is possible to self-edit your entire manuscript, be aware you will miss things because by the time you get to the copyedit stage, you’ll have read your story at least a dozen times. Things just become invisible after a point.
PROOFREADING
This is the final phase of the revision process. Often, copyediting and proofreading can overlap as they tend to tackle the same issues. However, you will want to always give your manuscript a final polish (proofread) before you consider it “ready to submit.”
Proofreading covers punctuation, capitalization, spelling, grammar, and at times, formatting. Anything that looks wonky to the eye will be flagged by a professional proofreader, so if you’re proofreading your own stuff, you want to make sure you’re paying extra close attention to things like
Reversed quotation marks
Extra spaces between words
Partially italicized or partially bolded words
Incorrect chapter headings
Missing punctuation
Duplicated punctuation
Even though proofreading is supposed to be the final phase of revision—it’s extremely common to run into errors that should have been caught by substantive or even copyediting. We writers often fall into poor habits that are difficult for us to catch. When we live and breathe a writing project over the long-term, we can become desensitized to mistakes we commonly make. This is precisely why getting fresh eyes on your work is so helpful.
Regardless, this is your book with your name on it. It’s up to you to make sure the final product meets your standards.
Always remain alert to not just mechanical problems with your book, but issues with the storytelling elements as well—even up to the final, final, final run-through.