First Drafts and Ways to Confidently Edit your Manuscript

congratulations! You have written and completed the first draft of your manuscript. That's a great achievement.

 It takes courage and discipline to complete a work of novelty. It also takes dedication and confidence to "turn the page" day after day, committed to the plot and characters of the story.

 Let yourself be overwhelmed by the sense of achievement. Enjoy it, enjoy it.Hold on to how high you go while you can. But don't forget that the editing process is yet to come. Let's take this opportunity to look at 7 mistakes to avoid when editing your first draft.

 1. Start Editing  Immediately

 Unless you already have a contract with a publisher and you have a deadline to meet, give your first draft time to settle before you start editing. We recommend at least two weeks, preferably four.

 If you can, move on to something else or  take a complete break from writing. Reconnect with friends and family. Have fun!

 This pause gives you the distance and perspective you need to edit your first draft. Your physical and mental health.

 2. Expect your manuscript to be perfect

 Don't expect your manuscript to be a masterpiece when you've taken a break and are ready to start editing. It's just not possible.

 In fact, it's almost guaranteed that your first draft won't be great.It gets clumsy. You may find that some of your dialogue is flat, your pace of action isn't quite right, and your characters need further development.

 This may discourage you  a little. But don't beat yourself up!

 The first few drafts are all about getting all the jumbled words onto  the page so you have something to polish and build on. So don't be too hard on yourself. Come to the editing process with fresh eyes, renewed energy and understanding. that your manuscript isn't perfect, the magic happens when you edit it.

 3.Allow Anyone to Read 

 Writing and finishing a novel is not easy. Most people, especially non-authors, will be impressed that you did just that.

 Your friends and family will be proud of you and  likely to express their excitement by asking to read your first draft.

 don't do it. Your first draft is sacred. He is in a vulnerable phase. Don't let anyone and everyone read it.

 If you feel it is absolutely necessary to show someone your first draft, make sure it is someone who has your best interests at heart and be just as honest in giving them helpful feedback.

4. Trying to Edit without a plan

 instead of diving  and seeing what happens, create a machining plan to keep it up to date and enter the focus of the structure.If you really  need  some responsibility to keep up, have someone else attest/sign your plan! This person will become your "responsibility partner".

 Then it's time to sit down and read your manuscript in its entirety before you start editing.

 Instead of doing this in your working document, we recommend  printing out the manuscript and reading it on paper, or uploading the document to a tablet or e-reader.

 Read your manuscript first with a close focus on structural elements 

 When you get  to the heart of the matter later, you can also work on improvements at the sentence level (style correction), but don't get bogged down in it until the finale. at the expense of a correct structure output.

 Here are some questions you might want to consider as you read:

•  From whose point of view am I writing in this scene? Does it make sense?

•  Can I improve  the tempo in act 1, 2 or 3? Does a part pull or feel like it's been skipped?

•  Is the triggering incident still ongoing? Does the story start in the right place?

• Is my climax good enough?

•   Where did I miss details?

•  Does every scene have a purpose?Is the diagram before and / or contribute to  the development of the characters?Do I need to introduce a particular character earlier?

5. Reading Without Taking Notes

 So at this factor you've got got created your editorial plan, it's been witnessed via way of means of your reporting partner, and you've got examine the whole manuscript. But you don`t need to simply examine your manuscript with out taking notes. It's high-quality to jot down matters down as they arrive to thoughts and spotlight regions which you recognise want paintings on whilst you absolutely begin enhancing. This is wherein a paper replica can are available handy. Prepare an arsenal of stationery

 (sticky notes, unique coloured pens, highlighters) and head into city together along with your manuscript. You also can use your new pocket book as a piece of writing bible and jot down all of your mind to put together for the subsequent issue.

 6. Don't Kill Your Words

 Once you've got completed analyzing and taking all of your notes, it is time to dive in and start the real enhancing process.You should be geared up to devote murder.You recognise what: the retired detective with a trouble of consuming and different worn-out troops.While under the waves and close to death, he reviews some other realm wherein he can listen and talk to all of the creatures of the ocean.

 It's an interesting concept and also you loved writing it, that's why it is really well worth 200,000 words. But the publishers you've got sought out to put up your manuscript

 hardly ever post novels of this size. In other words, you need to decide how to edit. Would you like to reduce the number of words in your manuscript to submit to your desired publisher? Or are you looking for a more unconventional publishing method? Even when doing the latter, it's important to consider what your readers are looking for.

 Do they really risk writing a debut novel that is over 800 pages long?  Take the time to research and understand the target audience in your manuscript. It gives you a better chance of being published and / or succeeding with your readers.