First edit tip

Hello again! 

As of writing this (October 4th), I am very nearly finished with the first edit of my WIP, which, as I'm sure you can guess, inspired this post. First edits are scary when you're not used to the process, but I've learned a lot about editing over the years, and I thought I could share a little of what I learned from those hard-earned lessons.

When I first started writing, I was always in a rush to finish and editing felt like an unnecessary obstacle to overcome. With every edit, I tried to tackle every single issue completely, in the hopes of finishing my entire book in an edit or two. And that only made the process all the harder.

These days, I can finish my books with far fewer rounds of editing... but that's mainly due to practice, rather than unnecessarily pressuring myself to finish as quickly as possible. But I also now view editing as a critical part of writing, not a distraction from it.

And today, I wanted to share one very simple tip that I wish someone had told me years ago: don't worry about trying to address every single problem in the first edit. If the commas are out of place or there's a small inconsistency to be addressed, you can always come back to those issues in later edits. Right now, you need to focus on getting the basics fixed; the details will come in their own time, with their own rounds of editing.

And now for the part no one ever wants to hear: the best way to get better at editing... is to spend a lot of time editing. Sorry, I haven't found any shortcuts for this part yet, and unfortunately, writing is one of the few areas where practice doesn't actually make perfect... it only makes you better than before.

Have a great day, and keep writing!