Congratulations! Now it’s time to reconnect to your goals.

• Once you’ve completed a draft, there are several ways to move forward, but before you share it with a friend or dive into a revision, it is critical that you clarify your overall objective, publishing goals, and assess your appetite for revision.
• You may simply want to enlist a proofreader, bind the manuscript, and share the book with friends, but if you have more professional ambitions, it’s time to assess your draft and gather feedback.
• Also, be sure to celebrate this milestone!

There is no single path to publication, but the main options are traditional publishing, self-publishing (indie publishing), and hybrid publishing. Each model offers different pros and cons specifically in the areas of control, upfront costs, and revenue.

• Traditional publishing follows a longer timeline, means a smaller share of royalties, and means the writer must give up control of various aspects (like cover design, schedule, marketing, etc.) Authors can write query letters directly to publishers and may submit their work, but generally you’ll need an agent. Self-publishing puts the writer in the driver seat and means no gatekeepers. That said, the author shoulders the full responsibility and cost, but it also means the author has full control, offers a faster timeline, and the author retains all rights and revenue. Hybrid publishing blends elements of both.
• Publishers usually need at least one year to bring the book to market while the expedited path of self-publishing can take as few as 12 weeks from the time a proofed manuscript is submitted. Before publishing a book needs to be formatted, cover designed, title finalized, back cover materials generated, and registered.

A manuscript review is a great way to assess the next best step for your draft.

• Before publication, I recommend clients work through at least three more drafts after a first draft: 1) a developmental edit to address big picture issues, 2) a copy edit for style and flow, and 3) a final proof for clean-up. Typically, professional authors work through SEVERAL drafts before submitting a final draft for publication.

Diving into a revision can be a daunting task. It’s easy to get bogged down in challenges, so the first step is knowing your objective.

• For early revisions, you want to evaluate the big picture. In addition to taking notes on the manuscript, employ these five essential tools: 1) create a reverse outline, 2) generate a question list, 3) make a “love list,” 4) make a “key” for shorthand notes, and 5) perform your own manuscript review.  
• Get the free download: Five Essential Tools, including 10 Questions Every Author Should Ask.

After completing a draft, you may want to make another “pass” before you get opinions, but ultimately, if it is a book you want to share with the world, you’ll benefit from enlisting an editor.

• Typically, there are three phases when you might want an editor. After you have a first draft, a developmental editor can help you assess big picture issues. Once you’re happy with the overall draft, a copyeditor can line edit for style and flow. In the last phase before publishing, a proofreader makes a final pass for technical clean-up.

YES! You’ve put in a lot of time and effort. Honor your work by treating this next step with seriousness.

• Revising a manuscript is an important process, so it’s a good time to seek outside support. Even if you don’t want to do extensive revisions, you’re often so close to the work, you may not be able to see flaws and often lose sight of what is working well.
• While it’s tempting to share your manuscript with family members and friends, your loved ones are usually ill-equipped to assess a work in progress. If they do happen to have writing expertise, they might be uncomfortable being honest, or you may not be ready for tough feedback from someone you’re close to.
• Professional editors and experienced ‘beta readers’ provide ‘fresh eyes’ and know how to interpret manuscripts even if it’s still a rough draft. They provide objective, candid, professional feedback. (For more resources, check out Chapters 11 and 13 in The Story Cycle Method.)

Unless you have a working relationship with a tried and trusted editor, it’s inadvisable to rely on a sole reader’s opinion.

• It might feel overwhelming to consider multiple perspectives, but if you only get feedback from one reader, you run the risk of being thrown off by a rogue opinion or missing out on valuable observations. The benefits of gathering multiple points of view are that you can identify patterns, its an opportunity to learn about what readers respond to, and each reader will be sensitive to different story elements.
• For an early draft, I recommend you gather notes from three different readers.
• If this approach feels like “too many cooks in the kitchen,” you may decide to get feedback from one source, but in this case it’s especially important you work with an experienced editor or a professional beta reader.
• When enlisting a copyeditor or proofreader, only work with one editor at a time.

• There are tons of restaurants, shops, and lots of fun activities: beach, stand-up paddle board, and bike rentals.
• There are spa treatments available nearby.
• Reservations are strongly recommended.

Pace is contingent on many factors. Writing speed varies for everyone, changes with each project, depends on the type of revision, and is impacted by external factors. For some, generating material takes longer than revising and vice versa. Also, it’s hard to know when you might hit a block, run into a tricky story challenge, or have an insight that demands more extensive changes. That said, when calendaring a rewrite, consider these factors:

• Writers generally set targets of 100 to 2,500 words per writing session. (See Chapter 6 in The Story Cycle Method.)
• Make time to perform your own manuscript review.
• Dedicate time to synthesizing notes and road mapping next steps. (Just this can take anywhere from 4 week to 20 weeks.)
• You may need time to do research.
• You need to give yourself buffer time to allow for life’s unexpected curveballs.
• You need rest.
• Consider how time you realistically can dedicate to writing.  
• Build in time to gather feedback. It usually takes professional editors 4-8 weeks to turn around a 60-80,000-word manuscript but clarify your expectations on the time frame with your reader(s) upfront.

• Note: editors often book up weeks (or months) in advance, and it takes longer over holidays. (ie Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's, etc.) Friends (doing as a favor for free) often take longer or simply don’t deliver.

A full pass through a draft can take anywhere from 8 weeks to multiple years. That said, here are some estimates for an average-length manuscript:

• A developmental edit takes 6 – 12 months.
• A copy edit generally takes 6- 12 weeks
• A proofread generally takes 2-4 weeks

Consider what type of rewrite you're doing and your usual pace for that editorial phase. Then look at how many hours and how many sessions per week you can write. Then set a target pace, then do the math!

• So, for example, a 75,000-word manuscript, at a pace of 750 words a day, would require 100 days or 20 weeks if you write 5 days a week.
• Whether your manuscript is 60,000 words or 100,000, a novel usually lands around 75,000 words, so use that for your estimate. (For longer manuscripts, you will be cutting material and for shorter drafts, you are often adding detail, transitions, and filling in gaps.)

TIP: Regularly track how many words you tackle in a given writing session.

Each editor works differently, so it’s important to clarify what your reader will be addressing. While there isn’t an exact industry standard, here is how I approach the different types of editing.

During a developmental edit, the editor looks at the structure and logical flow of the book, identifying plot holes, world-building issues, point of view consistency, character development, story structure, and marketability.

A developmental editor assesses the book’s foundations, thematic coherence and aims to improve character arcs, dramatic tension, believability, and emotional relatability.

For non-fiction books, they make sure that each chapter is relevant to the author’s concept and in the right order, that each section or scene within each chapter leads nicely into the next, and that the reader is guided from paragraph to paragraph. They may move large sections of text around, add headings or dividers between sections or scenes, delete sentences and paragraphs, and request additional explanations throughout the manuscript.

You’ll be 75% of the way finished after you’ve addressed developmental feedback.

A copyeditor is sometimes referred to as a line editor, because they comb through the manuscript sentence by sentence.

They fine-tune sentence and paragraph structure with an eye toward variety, clarity, and fluidity. Copy editing also includes word choice suggestions, stylistic changes, and adjusting point of view, verb tense, punctuation, and grammar.

A copy editor prioritizes style, flow, and coherence. The editor identifies unclear or awkward paragraphs and sentences, deletes unnecessary and repetitious words, phrases, and sentences, and substitutes words with more powerful descriptions and action verbs.

The editor works to ensure the narrative, characters, and descriptions work together as a whole and that the writing is emotionally engaging. Some minor typos may persist, so you’ll want a proofreader to do a final pass.

You’ll be 95% of the way finished after you’ve completed a copy edit.

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