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It’s scary enough to give your manuscript to an editor at the beginning of a project, but perhaps the scariest moment will be receiving those documents back. You’ve probably spent the entire project building it up in your head, guessing what your editor will think about this plot point or that character. If you’re anything like me, you’ve been having entire conversations with your editor in your head, where you defend your choices or argue about why you won’t be compromising on the suggested changes.
But really, it doesn’t have to be so scary. In fact, this is an exciting moment, the beginning of the next phase, wherein you get to revise and make your book so much better than it was before. And that’s not saying your book wasn’t great in the first place—but I truly do believe that every book gets better having been edited. Here’s how you can set yourself up for success after you receive those edits back:
Don’t freak out
Seriously. Calm down. It’ll be okay. Practice some deep breathing exercises, and do your best not to build it up in your head. Respond to your editor with a nice email letting them know you received their edits and you appreciate their work. Do a few more of those breathing exercises. You got this.
Set the mood
If you’re already in a bad mood, if you didn’t get any sleep last night, if you’re stressed out about too many other things—now is not the time to start revisions. Revisions will feel vulnerable, and just like you shouldn’t have a tough conversation with your partner when you’re overly tired or emotional, you shouldn’t read through your editorial letter or edits while you’re overly tired or emotional. When you are ready, set the mood by sitting somewhere comfortable and with few distractions. Grab a notebook and pen so you can jot down questions that come up. Put the do-not-disturb sign on the door, and settle in.
Read the entire editorial letter
For me, at least, my editorial letter is basically an introduction to the things I think need to be changed. I review large plot issues, my thoughts about the characters, a list of some of the large-scale grammatical or spelling changes I made, and praise my favorite parts of the book. I also include some instructions on best practices for moving through your edits, as well as an overview of how I approach editing. Because so much is covered, I suggest that you start out by reading this editorial letter in full before you do anything else. Consider taking notes while you’re reading, or highlighting sections you want to come back to. Being that this letter might be anywhere from three to thirty pages long (depending on the length of your book, the editing services performed, and how many changes I found in total), this might take you a while, but at the end, you’ll have an idea of what revisions you’ll need to make, or at least consider. It’s like taking a look at the forest before you focus on individual trees.
Take a break if you need to
If the letter was particularly rough, or if it just took you a while to read through and comprehend, feel free to take a break here to get back into the right mindset. If the distractions are banging down your door again, attend to them, then come back when things are settled down. You don’t have to do all of this at once.
Read through all the comments and edits in the manuscript
When you’re ready to come back, your next step will be to read through all the changes in the manuscript, paying special attention to comments. You’ll probably find that a lot of these comments correspond to points in the editorial letter you just read, or are smaller suggestions overall. Changes you need to make toward the end of the manuscript may inform the way you make changes toward the beginning, so resist your urge to make changes now, and save it all for when you have a plan.
Ask for clarity
Once you’re done reviewing both the editorial letter and the manuscript edits, collect your thoughts. Review those notes. Let things settle into your brain. Think about your plot points and characters, about the insight that you now have. If there are any questions that came up for you, or areas that were addressed but perhaps not completely clear, feel free to reach back out to your editor! Most editors I know will be happy enough to clarify things for you.
Think about things, then make a plan
Once you’ve wrapped your mind around things, it’s time to make a plan. I generally suggest that authors begin with large-scale changes, like plot points and character development. Those are the elements that may affect things throughout your manuscript, not just in one particular area. Make a list of the things you need adjust, and keep getting smaller and smaller, until the final things you work on are the small tweaks that shouldn’t take long at all.
Now go revise
With all this new information, as well as a plan of attack, you should be able to jump into revisions when you’re ready!
