Thanks for bringing up "over editing." This is definitely a thing and can happen when a person receives too much feedback and too many opinions from others.
How many times do you edit a draft before you leave it? The Editing Process.
- Thread starter Madman Starryteller
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For sure, and also, at least for me, due to all the advice of how to get your story published, which can be conflicting and dominated by business concerns of the publishers, leading to constant second guessing and feeling like whatever we have can’t be good enough. I ended up putting back so many things from my first draft into the later drafts, because it was perfectly fine and it had life that later drafts I pedantically polished, had lost.
Over editing can cost you your voice. I have done a few beta reads and was shocked when the author used the paragraph in his story. It wasn't in his voice; it was just a suggestion from my perspective. ProWritingAid has a sentence suggestion feature, and the same would apply if you used those suggestions. It's not in your voice; write your own $hite and own it.
Proof Queen
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For me, editing shifts a little with each pass. Early drafts are where I’m open to moving scenes around, tightening character arcs, or smoothing out pacing. Later drafts become more about clarity, voice, and smaller fixes. By the time I’m on the last pass, it’s usually grammar, rhythm, and those tiny details that make the story feel clean.
Every writer’s process is different, though. Some need two drafts, some need ten. What matters is that the story feels true to you when you close that file.
Has this book gone through beta reading yet? Sometimes fresh eyes can show you things you might’ve missed after living in the story so long.
Every writer’s process is different, though. Some need two drafts, some need ten. What matters is that the story feels true to you when you close that file.
Has this book gone through beta reading yet? Sometimes fresh eyes can show you things you might’ve missed after living in the story so long.
A friend and my mother have read it. Got some feedback from both. But it has not faced the stranger test yet.
Proof Queen
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Sounds like you’ve gotten some solid first impressions already
If you’re open to a fresh pair of eyes, I’d be happy to beta read for you.
That's very nice of you. I will keep that in mind for when draft 5 is done.Sounds like you’ve gotten some solid first impressions already
If you’re open to a fresh pair of eyes, I’d be happy to beta read for you.
Proof Queen
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Alright! Looking forward to hearing from you
My issue right now is that, well, let's be honest... most feedback, particularly what you find out in the wild, is kind of not helpful and could actually damage your story.
And it can take awhile before you're confident enough in your writing that you can judge what feedback is good and what feedback is bad.
For example, maybe you post something up on a critique forum that says, "Mark then proceeded to make an impression of Ms. Drake's way of scolding her students. It wasn't as good as Bill's impression, but it was enough to cause the group to burst out laughing." You put that on a critique forum and someone is bound to say, "That's telling, not showing. If you're going to say something that's part of a main character's personality, you need to show it." Now, you have to go back and write out a scene where you show Bill making a scene specifically to show he does impression, even though he's already established as the clown of the group, and that's just something, by now, the reader could imagine he does along side other antics.
But in critique forums: the system is often set up that you have to write 200 words in order to get credit. So readers in these environment are encouraged to say something, even if it's not to the betterment of the story as a whole. Compound this with the lack of literacy, even among prolific readers, and the fact that people don't take time to get to understand a writer's vision on a whole, then you really are getting feedback that's horrible.
Yep, I know this feeling well from when I was just starting out too. The issue is that just putting our work up somewhere and inviting critique, isn’t any sort of guarantee we’ll get useful critique. Also, the newer you are, the harder it is to take proper criticism - not critique but someone telling us what we wrote didn’t work. The trick is recognising mindful critique, and then, knowing our story and having confidence in our skill to say thanks but I don’t actually agree, and I’ll leave it the way I wrote it for x,y,z reason.
Ultimately, the goal is to become a competent critic of our own work. For this, what helped me was to study some books on writing. I learned a lot about style and structure, scene vs sequel and 3 act structure type stuff, dialogue, show vs tell, worldbuilding etc. There are well regarded resources on these in books and all over the internet. Once you get to this point, we still need feedback but it becomes a lot easier to get useful feedback and not bother with the rest.
Ultimately, the goal is to become a competent critic of our own work. For this, what helped me was to study some books on writing. I learned a lot about style and structure, scene vs sequel and 3 act structure type stuff, dialogue, show vs tell, worldbuilding etc. There are well regarded resources on these in books and all over the internet. Once you get to this point, we still need feedback but it becomes a lot easier to get useful feedback and not bother with the rest.
This has been my downfall as I have yet to complete an initial draft. I am forever editing and, somehow, I need to stop doing it.
defaux
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This is quite possibly the hardest part of writing. We are ever our own biggest critic and at the same time cannot see past our own blind spots. The most difficult person to lie to or be honest with is oneself.
I have not posted for a little while so hope this comes across well as intentions are supportive.
The question I ask myself is who are you writing for. Is it a reader or is it yourself? Don't answer that question straight off the bat. Instead look at the evidence and the answer will lay there should you wish to accept it. If you are forever editing but not putting anything out there then you are writing for yourself. By the way there is nothing wrong writing for yourself. Much joy and fulfillment can be gained from this if its what you want. Maybe you have an unrealised passion for editing. On the other hand it may be that you intend to publish or put your work out there so the obvious question is why are you editing so much? Are you a writer or are you an editor. Maybe you are both...
What I do is write the whole story. I edit only for my editor because she is brilliant and very busy and she has set acceptability standards for work before she takes it on. I know what level the MS needs to be at for her to be able to work with it so this is my only focus once the story is written and has sat and matured for a while. Usually when I get it back from my editor it is very tidy indeed. Honestly I have edited chapters endlessly in the past and twenty edits from me do not match up to a final pass from a professional.
The question I ask myself is who are you writing for. Is it a reader or is it yourself? Don't answer that question straight off the bat. Instead look at the evidence and the answer will lay there should you wish to accept it. If you are forever editing but not putting anything out there then you are writing for yourself. By the way there is nothing wrong writing for yourself. Much joy and fulfillment can be gained from this if its what you want. Maybe you have an unrealised passion for editing. On the other hand it may be that you intend to publish or put your work out there so the obvious question is why are you editing so much? Are you a writer or are you an editor. Maybe you are both...
What I do is write the whole story. I edit only for my editor because she is brilliant and very busy and she has set acceptability standards for work before she takes it on. I know what level the MS needs to be at for her to be able to work with it so this is my only focus once the story is written and has sat and matured for a while. Usually when I get it back from my editor it is very tidy indeed. Honestly I have edited chapters endlessly in the past and twenty edits from me do not match up to a final pass from a professional.
Good advice, if you are already signed up to a publishing house, or if you have thousands to pay a professional editor. Unfortunately, most unsigned authors don’t have access to either. The typical advice for an unsigned author, who wants to get trade published, is to polish the manuscript to the absolute best of their ability, before querying agents.
It should not be an issue as long as the piece is strong and the edit meets the standard. It is all about what you are aiming to achieve
I'm the type who cycles back with edits as I go, so I have no idea how many times I do it. Don't ask me, unless you want my brain to break.
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