How to survive the Edit

How to survive the Edit - Letter

Photo credit: James F Clay Flickr

so, we all know working with partners criticism is a good thing to do if you are a writer, and we know that even after you get an agent the revisions do not stop until the book is on the shelf. That means between the first draft and the final printed version, the writers need to do much revisions. And usually when those revisions are based off notes of someone else ... it just the editing letter.

Many edit letters

. I recently received a question on tumblr on handling letters change, and it occurred to me that if I mentioned tips here and there for handling criticism, it does not seem that I would really dedicated a post to it. So now I am.

The long and short that even when you love revision (like me), even when reviewing your favorite part (like me) letters - edit can be pretty hard to swallow. Whether a chip email or Word document fifteen pages (both of which I received), the reading of a letter editing can feel a bit like getting kicked in the stomach repeatedly . And in the end you're supposed to smile and say, "thank you."

So how do you manage a publishing letter? These are the steps I take:

1. Before reading the letter, remember it will (probably) make your book better. I try to approach each letter as open a mind as possible. I trust that I receive the letter from editing, and I am confident that their suggestions will help me this book even better than I imagined. I also remember at this stage that whatever the letter said, it is not personal, and they share their suggestions to help me improve the book.


2. read the letter once. I want to read it through the first time quickly. This is the gut-punch stage where small flaw hurts like hell, which is why I try to run through it as I reach the end quickly and know the worst.


3. Read the letter again. This time, I'll read it through more carefully. Now that I know what to expect, it's a little easier to focus on the serious things. I make particular attention to all the suggestions and start thinking about what I can do to solve problems.


4. Put the letter on. Unless the publishing letter is all super easy fixes I 'm ready to tackle immediately, I will usually not far away. Most of the time, I will not look at the letter again for the rest of the day, I need time to process the suggestions that the next day I ...


5. get a game plan together. First, I'll open the letter to change again. If it is in an email, I will copy and paste it on a note, if Evernote is in a Word document, I'll probably work out of it from the document. If I have several letters, I will put everything in the same document Evernote, and from there, I'll start organizing notes by type: Lot / stimulation, voice / write, the characters, the construction of the world, various . I use a process that I mentioned in this post to organize everything in different edition goes, then ...


6. Start Review. In the case of heavy revisions I recommend trying a strategy like this, but if your revisions will be super-intensive or relatively easy, now is the time to get to work. I have come to really love the review process because it is a really cool thing to look at your manuscript better, but even if you do not just remember that this process will be all worth it. The hard work finally carries out just stick to it, be kind to yourself, and keep your head down and eyes on your own paper until you are finished.

How do you edit letters partners criticize or publishing professionals

Twitter bite size:

Struggling to handle criticism? Sharing @Ava_Jae 6 steps to approach the editing letter. (Click for tweeter)