Step Thirteen: The Final Revision

By Jove, We've Made A Book!

So, how was your editorial letter? Scary? Easy as pie? Now that you’ve crossed the Rubicon, it’s time for the next big step — taking the advice and suggestions of your editor and creating a new draft of the book. We call this stage the developmental edit, and it encompasses the editorial letter and the subsequent revisions before the book is pronounced finished. This is usually a financial trigger point, too, meaning when the book is declared done and “accepted,” you get paid. Huzzah!

So no pressure or anything.

True confession time. I had a very difficult time wrapping my head around my editorial notes. Not because they were wrong or I disagreed with them. Quite the opposite; in fact, I agreed completely. But there was a structural element to the revision, and I couldn’t figure out how to do it. On paper, it wasn’t hard, and it made the story tighter and more uniform. But every time I opened the document, a block appeared. I’d walk away and try again later—same thing.

I did this for a week. Now, I did turn this book in early, so we had some extra time to work on it, but losing a week of revision time told me something was really wrong. If I agreed with the changes, why couldn’t I make them? Was I being precious about the work? Being stubborn? Had I forgotten how to edit? (Don’t laugh; it happens.)