Revisions are done (for now)

I began revisions on the first draft of Project Seashore in April or May. Around mid-July, I made the decision to try to finish by the end of the month. Somehow, I managed to accomplish that! I've never revised any of my manuscripts before, so this was new to me. Read on for details on my process, mindset, takeaways, and next steps for this novel.

Process

I had no idea how to start these revisions. I bought some colorful sticky notes in a variety of sizes and colors and highlighters to match. My original plan was to read the manuscript through as a reader, then read it a second time with a pencil in-hand and highlighters nearby. I gave each color a category and intended to liberally highlight the manuscript, tag the pages that needed fixing, and make copious notes on fresh sheets of lined paper.

Zoe was into it.

That plan lasted less than a page. I couldn't bring myself to skip over anything I thought needed fixing; maybe I was worried I wouldn't catch it again on the second read-through. Soon, I was reading with a pencil in hand and had completely given up on my color-coded notes idea.

After finishing the re-read, I made a fresh copy of the Word document and started making updates page-by-page. The notes in the first draft became a starting-point; there were lots of other things I found I wanted to change as I went. Eventually, I was jotting things down on sticky notes to post to my monitor to help me keep track of early changes that would impact the plot later on. I also relied heavily on my world-building Excel document, especially to help me keep my timelines straight.

By the middle of July, I realized the time I was taking between chapters was making it hard to keep track of things I was changing, so I decided to edit a chapter a day until I was done, setting a goal to finish by the end of July. 

Which I did. Mostly.

Finally, after finishing the main revisions, I did a little ctrl+F search for overused words and phrases. And then I was done!

Takeaways

In no particular order, but numbered because lists are fun, here are some things I realized/learned as I revised.

1. Even the most grammar-conscious person is going to make weird grammar mistakes. When I'm writing, my head often moves faster than my fingers, so I tend to skip over words entirely. Whoops.
2. I felt prouder of finishing this revision—and like I had actually finished the novel—than I did when I finished the first draft. At that time, I felt sort of numb. When I finished the second draft, I felt like I'd actually finished the book.
3. I have a weakness for head-hopping and it's not super easy to fix. See also: tense changes. Do we really need more than one type of past tense?!
4. Sometimes, I'd get an idea and make a note to incorporate it later, when it would be more relevant, only to realize I'd already made that note to myself during my first re-read. It was fun to see my own consistency as ideas matured, and I really enjoyed making connections between early events and the end of the book. The problem-solving part of the revision process was hands-down the most fun part for me.
5. I am really happy with the last few chapters; they feel especially cohesive and like I knew where I was going from the start. (I didn't—I'm a pantser.)
6. I took great pleasure in removing chunks of text that dragged down the momentum of the story.
7. By the time I finished the second draft, I'd forgotten that I'd changed certain things at the beginning, and I planned to go back through the first five chapters again to tighten them up, only to realize I'd already done that. Because duh, I did chapters 1-5 first!
8. I really hate naming/renaming things.
9. I'm not confident I hit the thematic notes I wanted to, that my characters feel authentic, or that the plot is super gripping and excited from page one...and I also don't really care. At the end of the day, this book is for me, a little bit of fantasy and wish-fulfillment, and honestly, it's fine. Spending too much time on writing and self-publishing forums can really start to eat your brain.
10. The advice to backup your work in multiple places is good advice.

To expand a bit on point 5, I thought I was done revising on July 30, but on August 3 I got hit by an idea of how to change the ending, and found myself diving back in. The new ending nicely ties up the main character's internal journey and gives the story outside of her more purpose. I think with the new ending, the novel feels truly finished...as far as plot goes.

For comparison, the first draft was 89,286 words.

Overall I enjoyed the revision process; rewriting something this hefty was something fun and new to tackle, and the manuscript probably needs another re-read before I even think of next steps, but for now I just want to put it aside for a bit.

What's Next

I've never seriously considered doing anything with my writing, but I've been mulling over self-publishing this novel, even if just so I can get myself a copy and see it on my shelf. There are a lot of steps to go through to get there, not the least of which is having someone else edit it.

I've sent the second draft to Elizabeth in its entirety, which will be a fun change for her. I'm excited to see what she thinks of the changes I made. 

I've asked my mom to read it for grammar mistakes, but haven't sent it to her yet.

If I want to self-publish, I'll need to research options for distribution, write the blurb (which is proving to be difficult), find an artist to create a cover, get an ISBN number, etc, etc, etc. Reddit is a gold mine of information on all this, but it can be really overwhelming.

Then I have to decide if I want this to truly, truly be just for me, or if I think the idea of other people reading my book makes me more happy than anxious. In that case, I'll have to set a publication date, then find beta readers, send out ARCs, and start using my social media more effectively for marketing purposes. From everything I've read, marketing is the hardest and most crucial part of self-publishing if you're doing it for any reason other than just to say you did.

In other words, if I want to reach even one reader who isn't a friend/family member, I'm going to have to do some work. 

I'm still going back and forth on whether I want to publish and figuring out my why. For now, I just want to bask in the success of finishing the second draft and maybe start brainstorming whatever I'm going to write next.

Because honestly, I'm very ready for a new project.

Ali