Almost no one writes perfect first drafts and that means you need to edit. But no manuscript is ever perfect. So how do you know when you’re done? In a post on DIY MFA, Jeannette Smith offers tips for knowing when enough is enough.
“The answer isn’t as easy as ‘it always takes this number of passes looking at these aspects,'” Smith writes. But there are questions to consider.
- How do you publish? Self-published books should go through multiple edits, including copyediting and proofreading. Traditional publishers will probably handle those last two, but all writers should consider a developmental edit and a line edit.
- When do you reach diminishing returns? You’re likely to make a number of changes during your first few self-edits, but eventually the time you put into another round won’t be worth the minor corrections you make. If you’re not flagging big issues or learning something from the process, it’s time to let someone else take a look before you kill your novel altogether.
- What is your editing goal? “Identifying when to stop is easier if you simply set a goal and stick to it,” Smith says. “Tell yourself you will only do X number of passes for each level and stick to that. Otherwise you could find yourself on the revision hamster wheel.”
- Do you trust your gut? Deep down, you’ll know when your novel needs work, and when it’s ready for the next phase. “One day, you’ll be reading through a paragraph and think ‘that’s really good,’ and that’s when you stop tinkering and move on to the next stage or start querying/press publish,” Smith writes.
