I love the phrase, "Game Plan." Easy way to revamp the energy of the dreaded "Editing..." :) I've been using a big spreadsheet to track my edits in my epic fantasy, so I'm looking forward to checking out your download. Thanks!
I'm currently revising my first book and I am really enjoying it. I think I'm naturally more of an editor at heart. :) I had no clue (and I mean NO clue haha) what I was doing in my first draft, so my second draft was fixing a lot of really big issues with structure after reading Save the Cat. Now I'm doing another pass with some big issues again in my third draft. I love the idea of passes, it really helps break it down into manageable pieces. I have the hardest time keeping track of more than a couple things at once, so the passes are lifesavers.
I agree, passes make the whole thing seem SO much more manageable! And oh man, I love Save the Cat. I used it to revise a first draft with the messiest plot ever a few years ago and it was so incredibly helpful. I love that you're enjoying revising! A lot of authors complain about this stage but I think it can be so much fun. :)
@@MichelleSchustermanAuthor Save the Cat has made a huge difference to me writing too, I'm so glad I found it! Yeah I think it fits my personality, which is good because I actually have a harder time with drafting. Editing is my true love apparently 😅
Thank you so much for addressing all my panicky questions! I feel much better equipped now that I have this plan. I suspect a lot of my edits required are of the developmental nature, meaning I'll be watching carefully for your rewriting video because that's probably what I'll need to do LOL!! Thanks again!
You are so welcome! Thanks for responding to the newsletter! :) And don't worry about the rewriting -- I'll talk about this next week, but honestly rewriting is sometimes easier than revising!
I gotta say, even with my huge document of revision/edit notes, I never thought to break things up into first pass, second pass things. I just worked on what I knew I could tackle in that moment and saved the stuff that my brain was too fuzzy to think on (because I usually write around 10 pm to 2am) for a later date when I had a clear idea/understanding of what I needed to do in the scene. As for the listing day edits thing, I never thought to implement that, and I'm thinking if I don't wanna get overwhelmed putting those 400+ pages of longhand down on computer, I might do well to give myself allowances of "write x many pages today" (with the side note of reminding myself not to edit. And maybe writing those edit notes in the document itself so I know what the note I made myself was without flipping through hundreds of pages to see if I left myself a note) Huh. Game plan. Yup. Makes this daunting task seem manageable! ☺👍 yeah, I think I'm gonna have to do that! (Because this sounds so much easier than lugging that big binder over to where I write, propping it up, making sure that the weight of the pages don't tear them off the rings, and writing what I can until my fingers don't want to hit the right keys.) Thank you! (Very daunting with my usual way, because when I see my edit notes for a scene or whatnot I usually try and fix it right then and there rather than make the notes and carry on transcribing.) (Laughs a happy sigh) this could be fun!😁
Yes!! I'm so excited to hear this, K! And honestly, I'm in awe of how you work on all of this by hand. Your binder game must be hella strong. :D Please keep me updated on your revising process! I think/hope breaking this up into passes is going to help a lot!
Yay, so happy it was helpful! Thanks for a great question - I hadn't considered the serialization critique standpoint, but it's something a ton of writers obviously do!
Oh! Thank you for another fabulous video on Editing! I never feel very confident in my own Edits. As if I'm so close to the painting I can no longer tell what color it is.
That's a great analogy! And honestly, that's why I always try to take a few weeks off without looking at a book before I revise it. It can be so hard to do that when you're super excited about the story, but it helps the revision process SO much!
I know when I go back to writing I’m going to rewatch and binge your entire channel so I can get in the zone. Can I ask what editing software you use for your videos?! Also love the step by step. Love the idea in 5 not to take detailed notes but big picture notes. I need to revise how I revise 😂
I can't WAIT for you to start writing! I know I keep saying this but I'm so curious about what a Hannah the Horrible book will look like. 😈 "Revise how I revise" ROFL but also yes!! I think most writers go through that at some point! Revision is tough and it's so easy to flounder. Oh and I use iMovie! I want to upgrade to Final Cut eventually, but I'm only just not getting fast with iMovie (in the beginning it was taking me like 8 hours to edit a video lol) so I think I'm going to wait before throwing that new learning curve at myself.
Help me understand - does this mean you send your MSS to your betas/editor without having read it through yourself? I hestitate to admit that I've done that before and - the poor things - it was like cruel and unusual punishment.
I always read it through and make light edits! If I have a draft that has major issues, I'll do a round of edits myself pre-betas - I don't want to waste their time if I know what needs to be fixed. But I've also sent betas a draft that I knew had issues I didn't know how to properly identify or fix. And I'm happy to read for them when they're in the same boat! I think it just depends on your beta relationships. :)
I see! So, to preamble the steps in the Game Plan, we stop working on it during the feedback process. Is that right? If you were to bullet point the process from when you finish the zero draft, would it look like: 1. Write the rough draft 2. Let it rest for at least a week, while you do other work 3. Read through once and make light edits for clarity 4. Send to betas and pros (editor, agent, etc) - Stop looking at or working on the draft now 5. Begin Game Plan Or how would you describe it?
I don’t understand. What about when you want to start revising a very rough first draft(the kind of draft that you don’t show to anyone)? Where to start from?
Ask yourself what's the biggest issue making this draft "rough"? Does your plot need restructuring? Your MC is lacking a big enough arc? Pick one big issue and don't worry about the rest yet - just revise for that. Then you can start worrying about the smaller, more manageable issues!
Hi Ashfaq! What kind of stories do you write? If you write short stories, there are lots of online magazines that publish those. Most of those sites focus on specific genres (literary, fantasy, etc). If you want to get work as a ghostwriter, I use and highly recommend Reedsy.com!
Grab your *free* Revision Game Plan here - and let me know how your revisions are going! mailchi.mp/f17f07b2dc80/1tr1vqp27s
I love the phrase, "Game Plan." Easy way to revamp the energy of the dreaded "Editing..." :)
I've been using a big spreadsheet to track my edits in my epic fantasy, so I'm looking forward to checking out your download. Thanks!
That's awesome! I hope it helps - and hey, a fellow MG author! Hooray! :D
I'm currently revising my first book and I am really enjoying it. I think I'm naturally more of an editor at heart. :) I had no clue (and I mean NO clue haha) what I was doing in my first draft, so my second draft was fixing a lot of really big issues with structure after reading Save the Cat. Now I'm doing another pass with some big issues again in my third draft. I love the idea of passes, it really helps break it down into manageable pieces. I have the hardest time keeping track of more than a couple things at once, so the passes are lifesavers.
I agree, passes make the whole thing seem SO much more manageable! And oh man, I love Save the Cat. I used it to revise a first draft with the messiest plot ever a few years ago and it was so incredibly helpful. I love that you're enjoying revising! A lot of authors complain about this stage but I think it can be so much fun. :)
@@MichelleSchustermanAuthor Save the Cat has made a huge difference to me writing too, I'm so glad I found it! Yeah I think it fits my personality, which is good because I actually have a harder time with drafting. Editing is my true love apparently 😅
Thank you so much for addressing all my panicky questions! I feel much better equipped now that I have this plan. I suspect a lot of my edits required are of the developmental nature, meaning I'll be watching carefully for your rewriting video because that's probably what I'll need to do LOL!! Thanks again!
You are so welcome! Thanks for responding to the newsletter! :) And don't worry about the rewriting -- I'll talk about this next week, but honestly rewriting is sometimes easier than revising!
Thanks for yet another great video! Definitely saving this one for later :D
Thanks, Julia! I hope it's helpful! :)
Very helpful. Thank you so much♥️🙏. Going to tackle this now and share with my writer friends.
Glad it was helpful! Thanks so much for watching!
I gotta say, even with my huge document of revision/edit notes, I never thought to break things up into first pass, second pass things. I just worked on what I knew I could tackle in that moment and saved the stuff that my brain was too fuzzy to think on (because I usually write around 10 pm to 2am) for a later date when I had a clear idea/understanding of what I needed to do in the scene.
As for the listing day edits thing, I never thought to implement that, and I'm thinking if I don't wanna get overwhelmed putting those 400+ pages of longhand down on computer, I might do well to give myself allowances of "write x many pages today" (with the side note of reminding myself not to edit. And maybe writing those edit notes in the document itself so I know what the note I made myself was without flipping through hundreds of pages to see if I left myself a note)
Huh. Game plan. Yup. Makes this daunting task seem manageable! ☺👍 yeah, I think I'm gonna have to do that! (Because this sounds so much easier than lugging that big binder over to where I write, propping it up, making sure that the weight of the pages don't tear them off the rings, and writing what I can until my fingers don't want to hit the right keys.)
Thank you!
(Very daunting with my usual way, because when I see my edit notes for a scene or whatnot I usually try and fix it right then and there rather than make the notes and carry on transcribing.)
(Laughs a happy sigh) this could be fun!😁
Yes!! I'm so excited to hear this, K! And honestly, I'm in awe of how you work on all of this by hand. Your binder game must be hella strong. :D Please keep me updated on your revising process! I think/hope breaking this up into passes is going to help a lot!
@@MichelleSchustermanAuthor I hope so too.
Have a nice day, and stay safe. 😁
In depth, and I got a great answer! Thank you! I'll be honest I'm not that great at organizing so this was especially helpful.!
Yay, so happy it was helpful! Thanks for a great question - I hadn't considered the serialization critique standpoint, but it's something a ton of writers obviously do!
Oh! Thank you for another fabulous video on Editing! I never feel very confident in my own Edits. As if I'm so close to the painting I can no longer tell what color it is.
That's a great analogy! And honestly, that's why I always try to take a few weeks off without looking at a book before I revise it. It can be so hard to do that when you're super excited about the story, but it helps the revision process SO much!
I know when I go back to writing I’m going to rewatch and binge your entire channel so I can get in the zone.
Can I ask what editing software you use for your videos?!
Also love the step by step. Love the idea in 5 not to take detailed notes but big picture notes. I need to revise how I revise 😂
I can't WAIT for you to start writing! I know I keep saying this but I'm so curious about what a Hannah the Horrible book will look like. 😈
"Revise how I revise" ROFL but also yes!! I think most writers go through that at some point! Revision is tough and it's so easy to flounder.
Oh and I use iMovie! I want to upgrade to Final Cut eventually, but I'm only just not getting fast with iMovie (in the beginning it was taking me like 8 hours to edit a video lol) so I think I'm going to wait before throwing that new learning curve at myself.
Michelle Schusterman haha I don’t know exactly but probably a dark and dreary book 😂
Oh cool! You are getting super skilled with it so I was curious.
@@HannahTheHorrible ha, thanks! I have a little too much fun editing sometimes 😂
Dude this is so helpful
I watched the vid two times XD I'll download the gameplan when I have the urge to watch it a third time.
Aw thanks so much, Joan! :D
This was so helpful!
Your videos are great. Thank you.
Help me understand - does this mean you send your MSS to your betas/editor without having read it through yourself? I hestitate to admit that I've done that before and - the poor things - it was like cruel and unusual punishment.
I always read it through and make light edits! If I have a draft that has major issues, I'll do a round of edits myself pre-betas - I don't want to waste their time if I know what needs to be fixed. But I've also sent betas a draft that I knew had issues I didn't know how to properly identify or fix. And I'm happy to read for them when they're in the same boat! I think it just depends on your beta relationships. :)
Thanks for clarifying! What then do you mean in the video, to not read the draft until... ?
@@mydailydao I mean take a break from it! I usually take at least a week, then read through and do light edits, then send it on to betas. :)
I see! So, to preamble the steps in the Game Plan, we stop working on it during the feedback process. Is that right?
If you were to bullet point the process from when you finish the zero draft, would it look like:
1. Write the rough draft
2. Let it rest for at least a week, while you do other work
3. Read through once and make light edits for clarity
4. Send to betas and pros (editor, agent, etc) - Stop looking at or working on the draft now
5. Begin Game Plan
Or how would you describe it?
Cool 😀
I don’t understand. What about when you want to start revising a very rough first draft(the kind of draft that you don’t show to anyone)? Where to start from?
Ask yourself what's the biggest issue making this draft "rough"? Does your plot need restructuring? Your MC is lacking a big enough arc? Pick one big issue and don't worry about the rest yet - just revise for that. Then you can start worrying about the smaller, more manageable issues!
Hi I write stories but i don't know where to sell
I want to be work like ghostwriter
Suggest me platforms where i can sell my stories
Hi Ashfaq! What kind of stories do you write? If you write short stories, there are lots of online magazines that publish those. Most of those sites focus on specific genres (literary, fantasy, etc). If you want to get work as a ghostwriter, I use and highly recommend Reedsy.com!