Revisions, revisions

Great questions to the open forum from BJ! Thanks for the feedback guys and PLEASE keep the questions coming. I picked this question to answer today since I actually just finished an article about revisions for a summer ezine.

"What do editors really do your manuscript? What kind of things do they change? Do they change things so drastically that the story isn't even the same?"

The answer is...yes and no.

Usually, no. When you sell a manuscript - whether that's a full manuscript as a first time author or a proposal as a multi-pubbed author - you will have revisions. That's a guarantee. But there's different levels to it.

For instance, sometimes, the editor will say "we like this story, but before we can contract it, we need you to change this or that plot thread." And then the choice is up to you as to whether or not you want do it.

The first book I sold to Steeple Hill Love Inspired, RETURN TO LOVE, was handled that way. They liked the story but said that music-themed books didn't do well for them numbers-wise in the past. So they wanted me to eliminate the music thread - which meant changing a bunch of scenes and having to completely reinvent the main elements of the external plot (what kept the heroine and hero in constant contact with each other during the novel) Originally, they were writing a song together. But in the revised and published version, they were working on a fundraiser together for the acquarium. I still got to keep a little music, because the hero was a former rockstar and he got to sing at the fundraiser...but that was no longer the main point of the book.

Sometimes those big revisions can be frustrating, but you do them, because you want to be contracted. But here's the thing - almost always in hindsight, you will see that the editor was right, and your story is better for the change, even if it took a lot of work.

Other times, editors like the main plot as is and there are no big revisions up front. But there will be still be small things like "your hero is coming across a little girlie in this scene." or "wouldn't the heroine's natural reaction in this situation be to this instead of that?" etc. Those are usually handled in the line editing stage. Those are also quick fixes and easy to change, and are part of what really shape up your story. That's the magic of an editor!

However, there are still other times that editors will ask you to change something big or small, and you know in your heart it will just completely lose an essential part of your story. That's when you "fight" - respectfully, politely, and in a way that your editor knows you respect their input and wisdom and that ultimately you will do what THEY want - but if they could just hear you out for a minute... Sometimes that works. But sometimes the editor insists and you do what they advise. Just fight sparingly, don't be a diva. That's the fastest way to never get a second contract!!

Manuscripts typically are submitted, contracted, and then go through revisions (which can be big or small and involve any plot changes, and involve the most actual rewriting) Next (months later!) are line edits, where the editor combs over every sentence and marks up the manuscript for all the little small things as well as prepares it in their specific formatting. That's when they notice if your heroine was wearing a different outfit a paragraph above or if this portion dialogue really slows down the scene, or if you used repeated words on the same paragraph, or if you got adjective happy describing a sunset, etc. Then finally, your manuscript goes to copy edits, where it is checked by a third party, usually a freelancer hired by the publisher, for typos and grammatical errors, etc. The author also gets a last change to view the manuscript before printing, usually just a few months or less before the release date, and this is called AA's or Final Galleys (depending on what publisher you have) Sometimes its before the copy editor, sometimes its after. But that's your last chance to change anything that maybe the editor missed, or that you suddenly freak out over. This is the stage though where the editor encourages you to only change something that's incredibly essential, because from here on out, the chance of errors increases the more the manuscript is messed with.

Did this answer your question? =)