Preparing to Rewrite (and My Revision Checklist!)

Have you ever rewritten one of your books? I'm not talking about revising, but rewriting one of your manuscripts. Is there a difference?

In my opinion, revising is when you keep the basic concept of the book but tweak and polish it to be the best it can be. Rewriting, on the other hand, is performed when your book has a fatal flaw and needs a major overhaul. When you're finished with it, it is not the same book as you originally wrote.


How do you know if your book needs to be revised or rewritten?
This is where feedback comes in. Maybe you've entered your book in a contest and the judges point out a big issue. Your critique group/partner might highlight a monumental problem. A round of rejections from agents and editors could also give insight.

I recently rewrote a book of mine. The catalyst came from an editor I submitted to. If you have a dream editor/publishing house, and the editor rejects your book and gives you a reason why, pay attention. Do you have to rewrite any of your projects? Of course not! But if you want to get published with a certain publisher and they give you a reason why they are rejecting your book, it's important for you to take this advice for either your future or current project.

Jill's Preparations for Rewriting

1. Gauge my commitment level to the manuscript. I love some of the books I write more than others, and if I'm not excited about the book, I'd be better off setting it aside and writing a new one.

2. Brainstorm possible changes to make the book marketable based on the comments I've been given.

3. Go back to the pre-writing phase and create a scene list based on the new direction of the book.

In my case, the book I rewrote is vastly different from my original version. It turned into a better, more marketable book. I love it, but I also love the old version. In many ways, they are two separate books, and in the end, that's why I found the experience to be rewarding.

Have you ever rewritten a book? If yes, would you do it again? Was the experience positive and informative or was it painful and annoying?

Have you ever gotten feedback you instantly understood to be true, but you weren't certain how to apply it to your current manuscript?

Revision Checklist Alert!

On a side note, many of you expressed interest in seeing my revision checklist. I've included it in a .pdf file, which you can open here: Revision Checklist. It will also be linked at the side for future reference. Feel free to print it out.

A brief explanation of the checklist:

It's broken down into five main parts.
1. I read the draft from beginning to end without making changes. While I'm reading, I jot notes in the file using the comment feature in Microsoft Word.
2. I evaluate each chapter. Many times, I only have problems in one or two areas in each chapter, so although there's a lot in this section, it doesn't take me long to get through.
3. Next is technical issues--mainly word choices, sentence structure, and grammar.
4. The book is very polished at this point, so I feel comfortable having my critique group read through it. As they return chapters, I evaluate their comments and make necessary changes.
5. I read the entire manuscript out loud.

That's it. My revision method. It's time-consuming and a lot of work, but it meets my needs. I love my final drafts!

Have a fantastic weekend!

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