So I wrote a book

[Surfingpichu]

Well, the first draft of a book. It took me about a year to write the whole thing from start to finish and that is after years and years of planning.

I never expected that I would get here. But here we are. I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask this, but it seems as good a place to ask as any.

I would love to publish traditionally if I can, but I've got almost no experience in the trade. I still have to do editing though, so thinking about that might still be some ways off. I know I have to make an effort to get unattached from the work before I think about editing it. I know there is work that needs to be done, specifically on the first couple of chapters, but I also know I need to distance myself from the work first.

If anyone here has tips on the editing process I'd love to hear them. Or on how to get my mind off of this thing enough for me to distance myself from it. Or really anything?

 

[Superbird]

Amateur advice: You don't necessarily have to be detached from your story to edit it - at least, you can go straight through and rewrite things that didn't come out as well as they could have. I recommend doing that, and perhaps at the same time asking a close friend to look through it to do less content-oriented editing and more story-based editing, such as plot points and things that need to be explained to the reader.

 

[Surfingpichu]

Ah! =D thanks for the response!

I've asked a few people to read it so far. Most of the responses have been pretty positive, but I asked my significant other to read it as well (he knowing a lot more about the universe than most other people) and he did find quite a few problems with it, leading me to think I might need some distance from the work in order to edit in the first place.

I guess I'm a little torn. I want to listen to his advice, but like you said, I do really REALLY want to edit this thing. Writing it was such an amazing experience, and I want to make it even better. I guess this is the hard part for a reason.

 

[I liek Squirtles]

I recommend you keep the first draft separate from the new draft if you're so attached to it. That way, you keep that which you're so attached to, and still make the necessary changes.

 

[Surfingpichu]

Hm, that could certainly be a good way to go about it. I have a ton of documents with it littering my desktop, so keeping one untouched copy shouldn't be very difficult. XD I'm a bit of a clutterbug.

 

[Sandstone-Shadow]

I guess I'm a little torn. I want to listen to his advice, but like you said, I do really REALLY want to edit this thing.

In the end, do what works for you! Everyone's writing style is different and you're not obligated to take anyone's advice. There are no correct ways - what works for other people may not work for you, and vice versa!

Personally, if you have the motivation to start editing, I say go for it. Distance is nice, but if there are things you know you want to change, there's nothing wrong with working on those things now.

I recommend you keep the first draft separate from the new draft if you're so attached to it. That way, you keep that which you're so attached to, and still make the necessary changes.

I do this too. If I'm about to make major changes, I'll save the document as Story 1a, and then 1b, and so on... I'm currently on 3g! It's great because you can clip irrelevant things without actually losing anything.

Good luck in your editing, and congrats for finishing the first draft!