How many rounds of editing does a book need?

More than you’d think – different types of editing

When I started writing a novel, I thought editing meant finessing the awful first draft. I imagined it was like tidying a house before guests arrive, getting it in a fit state to be seen by others. To me this involved polishing sentences; adding texture to the story; checking for consistency in names/ dates/descriptions; fixing grammar and typos. What I didn’t realise was that the first draft is rarely the foundation you can build upon. Yes, I might have rounded characters, know their wants and needs, and ensured the plot hits the key beat points, but somehow it’s not gelling terribly well. There are plot holes, the protagonist is not how I imagined her to be, by the end of the book I’ve lost her voice so she comes across as someone entirely different…

There are 101 reasons why it might not work, but the next stage is to fix it.

Every author has their own approach. I find it easiest to plan out the key steps in the story, but others prefer to write first and see what develops. Generally in the early editing rounds I ask trusted writer friends to read the manuscript and be brutal in their feedback. When I’m happy with the next iteration(s) I share the book with my agent for her comments. Another round of changes follow. When we’re happy with the manuscript, it will be sent to my editor for her review. She will have her own ideas about what works and what doesn’t and so I move into a further round of structural edits. Following the editor’s approval, there will still be line edits, then proofing before the book goes to print.

It’s impossible to say how many rounds of edits a writer will go through, or how long it will take – a lot depends on the genre and the experience of the writer. The photo gives you an idea how many significant edits there were before Her Little Secret reached the final draft!

If you’re interested in the different stages of editing there is a lot of helpful information online. A clear explanation can be found here: https://www.nickytayloreditorial.com/different-stages-of-editing/

What is aphantasia?

Writing with aphantasia – different ways of experiencing the world

Aphantasia

Aphantasia is the inability to create images voluntarily in your own mind. It was only this year I discovered there was a term for it! Since my childhood I’ve known that I can’t visualise people, even my partner and close friends/family, although I can describe them in words. Similarly places and objects: I have a sense of them more than an image in my mind’s eye. Apparently I am far from alone in this – Wiki lists a number of famous creative people who also have aphantasia, including several fantasy and science fiction writers and illustrators. I don’t know how they get round it but, as you can imagine, it can be a problem when trying to describe a character or a scene. 

My method is to think of the key qualities/characteristics I want my character to have: for example, Cristina is in her 50s and has dark wavy hair. I then search online until I find a photo of someone who looks like the person I want her to be. I do the same for environments. For example, I have a sense of the ‘summerhouse’ Cristina uses as her therapy room but I need to find an image that fits in order for me to describe it. All these images go into a scrap book or I make a collage so I can literally see the world I’m creating and refer to it as I work. 

If you’d like to read more see my article for Books By Women at Describing What You Can’t Imagine : Women Writers, Women’s Books (booksbywomen.org)

More info on aphantasia can be found here: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9MCrrBt-_8

Photo by Virginia Johnson on Unsplash

How do you develop fictional characters?

Using psychology to develop characters

It’s important to know your characters well, to understand what makes them tick and how they would behave in different situations. I like to develop rounded characters by using personality questionnaires to profile them. One tool I use is Myers Briggs which looks at ‘preferences’ on four different scales. Here is a brief explanation of the concepts behind it.

Click on each ‘concept’ in order to see a larger view that will open in a separate browser.

Photo by Shane Rounce on Unsplash

Photo by Igor Cancarevic on Unsplash

Photo by Anthony Tran on Unsplash

Photo by MagicPattern on Unsplash

Photo by Kelly Neil on Unsplash

Photo by Tengyart on Unsplash

Photo by De an Sun on Unsplash

Photo by Alex Alvarez on Unsplash

Using the four-letter codes you can create a profile. Cristina’s profile is ENFP. Davy’s is ESTJ. Cristina’s client, Leon, is INTP. 

If you are interested in reading more, full descriptions of the characteristics of people with these preferences can be found online. Just enter the four-letter codes in the search bar.

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