While drafting your novel is a monumental task, revising your novel is an even more daunting prospect and one that often takes longer to do than the writing itself. And that’s as it should be. But while on my writing journey, I found four books that teach you how to revise your novel.
One question you may be asking yourself is why should I revise my work when I can just hire someone to do that? And the answer is simple: Only you truly know your novel backwards and forwards, and revision is much like a conversation you have with your novel.
“There is a saying: Genius is perseverance. While genius does not consist entirely of editing, without editing it’s pretty useless.”
—Susan Bell, The Artful Edit: On the Practice of Editing Yourself
As you read your work, questions may come up. Instantly, you’re brain may more easily supply that answer than an editor who’s looking at your work for the first time, puzzling out what you’re saying when you wrote that particular phrase.
Additionally, an editor is there to cut out the chaff. In fact, they are not there to rewrite your words. They are only there to finetune them. Undoubtedly, editors will always be needed. As Bell states: when you learn to revise your novel, an editor’s job “will be less an act of excavation than one of refinement.”
Ready to revise your novel?
Many of my revisions were inspired by my amazing critique group—thank you, ladies!!! And the feedback they offered me month after month. Other revisions came from information gleaned from numerous writing workshops, conferences, and residencies I attended, as well as from the four amazing books I present to you here.
And, yes, much like you, I am still learning and growing my craft. These four recommendations will strengthen your work and make it the best it can possibly be—your readers and your novel(s) deserve it.
1. Use your intuition to revise your novel
Yes, you can create a tight, polished, publishable novel and it starts with intuition—that instinctive feeling that all writers have and need to learn how to tap in to instead of conscious reasoning.
And Tiffany Yates Martin’s book, Intuitive Editing: A Creative and Practical Guide to Revising Your Writing, will help you get there. Tiffany is a developmental book editor who’s worked with New York Times’ best-selling authors. So this gal knows her stuff.
And, it doesn’t matter if this is your first novel or your one-hundredth novel, Tiffany provides inspiration, motivation, and confidence to help you discover the best version or your story.
I love this idea of developing the “editor brain.” Just like you learn how to write, you learn how to edit, and that’s what this book offers.
The super plus? There are no rules in this book, much like writing it allows your creativity to flow. She asks probing questions to make you think deeply about your novel.
The book is divided into four parts: macroedits, microedits, line edits, and getting feedback. I love how she goes from big picture items—like plot—down to smaller items, like tension and showing and telling.
She teaches you how to request and process feedback, how to be objective and analyze your work like an editor not as the writer who bleeds with every word poured onto the page. She’ll show you how to find the problems and then how to fix them.
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The 5 big picture items you need to focus on to revise your novel.
2. Your manuscript makeover
I simply adore Elizabeth Lyon’s book, Manuscript Makeover: Revision Techniques No Fiction Writer Can Afford to Ignore. As an independent book editor myself, I recognize the genius of another book editor who has been at this craft much longer than me.
And, yes, even as an editor, I would not edit my own novel when it’s time to do so. I shall hire a professional and hope Elizabeth or someone equally brilliant will be there for me. As Elizabeth often says: “All writing needs revision.”
This book is divided into four parts.
What I love about these parts is that you can read what you need and get to work. Part one concentrates on style, which she terms the “voice of style.” Now we can quibble over voice or style, two words that are often interchangeable, just know that this section concentrates on finetuning your uniqueness.
The next part concentrates on craft—strengthening beginnings and endings, pacing for maximum suspense, and increasing the stakes. Part three concentrates on characterization—rewriting for dimensionality, universal need, and theme.
And the final part concentrates on marketing, because even after you’ve revised your novel, you’re not done—you need to get it out into the world. This section has its own copyediting checklist as well as examples and tips for writing the dreaded query letter and synopsis.
3. Use a roadmap to revise your novel
Save the Cat! Writes a Novel: The Last Book on Novel Writing You’ll Ever Need by Jessica Brody. The title sums it up so succinctly that I need not say anything else, but of course I shall.
Indeed, I love this book because it doesn’t matter if you’re a plotter of a pantser. Whether you have an inkling of an idea or a fully drafted novel. This book gives you great tools for making your novel the best it can be.
What’s more, at the end of each chapter, Jessica asks questions to check your work; questions that will make you get to the heart of your story.
Answering these questions will let you know whether you’re on the right track or whether there is still work to do. Each chapter builds from the last chapter, much like a roadmap taking you from a to b to c, and by book’s end if you followed along and completed the tasks she gives you, you’ll have a saleable, read-worthy novel to either try for traditional publishing or self-publishing.
4. Your last draft
Sandra Scofield is an amazing teacher (and author) who I first learned about from a writing mentor who recommended Scofield’s 2007 The Scene Book: A Primer for the Fiction Writer, where Sandra teaches you about beats in a scene—absolutely brilliant.
The Last Draft: A Novelist’s Guide to Revision is her follow-up to Scene, published in 2017. Without a doubt, it is just as brilliant. It takes you step by step through your novel and offering a world of encouragement to get you to the end.
And, as the title states, this book is for novelists who’ve drafted their novel and look to revise it. Think: Sandra is to you much like Homer is to Dante, your guide through the fiery depths of your novel. (Yeah, I couldn’t resist, remember my world is Renaissance Italy.)
Also, with Sandra, you’ll learn how to take things apart and put them back together stronger and deeper. She explains literary concepts—character agency, narrative structure—all writers should know and master, and provides examples to learn from. She is the friendly mentor on your shoulder who helps you break down your novel into four stages:
- A Close Look
- The Plan
- The Process
- The Polish
An additional bonus to the book is its wonderful resource section with other recommendations to hone your craft, a scene template, sample scenarios, and lessons from other novels.
These four book recommendations will help you on your journey to becoming the novelist you are meant to be as they continue to help me. And while you’re here, please drop in a comment your favorite revision technique.
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