Ripping It Up and Starting Over by Jana Richards

I’m currently in the throes of editing. I’ve frequently said that editing is where the magic happens in writing. It’s easy to wax poetic about the process once the editing is completed and the pain is over, but while you’re in the middle of it, it’s plain, old hard work.

After going through a bout of burnout last summer and missing my August 1 deadline, I finally finished my Christmas story and sent it to my editor November 1. My editor, Janet, calls her company Pink Pen Editing because most of her comments are written in bright pink. You can’t miss it. Unfortunately, when my story returned to me, it was covered in pink. Lots of comments.

It’s always disheartening to get back a manuscript that still needs a lot of work, especially after working through many difficulties. I read over the editing notes quickly, then set it aside for a month, mainly because I needed to finish another project, but also because I needed to think. I’ve found it’s never a good idea to react immediately to an editor’s comments. Because if I do, I might give a knee-jerk reaction: “What do you mean this needs to change? It’s perfect!” No, it’s not, and if I reflect on it for a while, I know the editor’s comments are valid. And will make the work better.

Aside from silly repetitions and timeline errors, (I can really tell I was burned out when I wrote this) Janet felt the main issue was that the hero didn’t have a clear goal. Goals, motivation and conflict make a romance novel—any novel, actually—work. So, I had to go back to the drawing board and think about what my hero wanted, aside from the heroine, of course.

I haven’t completely ripped it up and started over as my title implies, but it’s close. I’m adding a huge problem for the hero that relates directly to his goal. It means adding a lot of new words and saying goodbye to some I’ve grown quite attached to. In the end, it’ll be worth it. I could have done a cursory edit by cleaning up the manuscript and calling it good enough. The story probably would have been okay.  But I want better than okay, so it means doing the painful work. 

If you’re looking for me, I’ll be down in the trenches. 

Have you ever had to go back to the drawing board and rethink a project—any project—to take it from okay to great? I’d love to hear about them and how you managed to survive!