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@r-m-archer

As an additional note here, it’s a good idea to set aside the book for a while if you’re in the latter camp when you finish.

Ah, great suggestion! I do that as well, I just forgot to mention it XD

@wingiby-iggiby

As for my WIP, I am farther along in it than any other book attempt before! I’m over 50,000 words *squeals in delight* That is why I am asking these questions, because (hopefully!) the first draft will soon be completed (and, I took the test on SE for what area I need the most help in and – you guessed it! – revisions XD)

YESSS BROOKE YOU DID IT!!! I’m so proud of you for making it so far!! I know it’s gonna be EPIC!!!

Has she threatened to kill you yet? 😛

I sleep with one eye open XD She’s being herself, being a problem to her problems as always XD Unfortunately, I believe she counts me as one of her problems XD

Thank you so much!! As soon as it’s ready, I will be sure to let you know!

Yesss I’m so excited for it!!

That would be great!! I’ve missed you too!! I’m totally fine with your writer email, and I have Facebook too (although I’ve posted literally nothing on there bc I don’t fully understand it

Ahhh, epic! I don’t have Facebook, but email is perfect! My email address is “rose. everdeen. author @ gmail. com” without the spaces! (So, the one I use for my newsletter too!)

That sounds like a great plan! I love (hear the sarcasm) to overwhelm myself, so it’s good to have that in mind XD

Honestly, same *distant sobbing*

That made total sense! Y’all have totally answered my questions on where to begin!

I’m so glad!

Yes! The more skills and information I can accumulate the better!

Yesss awesome! Here’s a brief, summarized process of my revisions!

Usually, I start by setting the story aside for a while. Usually, I’m tired from powering through that entire draft and it’s nice to take a break for a month or so, or I might start working on something else if I really want to!

After that, I read through the whole document and annotate it! Sometimes just things like “Doesn’t make sense” or “Add more description here” (often XD) or “This was funny”

After that, I sometimes give myself another week or so to think about it, then I start planning revisions. Usually, I start spotting mistakes by making a new outline.

It’s often just a very brief summary in one or two sentences of what happens each chapter. This gives me a really good top-down view. Sometimes, you’ll find issues like this, either with continuity or pacing!

Then I use one of my favorite techniques, I list my absolute favorite things about the story. Big plot elements like “This character arc”, “this plot point” and so on! And sometimes I’ll do the same thing with the things I’m not sure of and the ones I really dislike! That’ll give you a good view of stuff you can leave alone, and stuff you want to work on!

Then I make a revision plan, by going into the outline you made earlier and writing down in a couple sentences what I want to fix on a bigger level. So “Add conversation with X, add more description, make sure to emphasize Y”

Once I’ve done that with everything, I have a pretty good idea of what to do, then I jump in and do it! It sometimes takes a while to get into the editing mindset, but you’ll get used to it!

I hope that was somewhat helpful!

I am a mix of both: I have things I know that need more working on, and then the rest I’m like: “I know it has more flaws, but it’s my baby and I can’t see it!”

I know that feeling, I’m like that too! That’s a good place to start!

That actually takes a lot of the stress out of it; knowing that others can point things out and I don’t have to try and find them all myself!

Yesss that’s what betas are so awesome for! Plus, you get to share your story! How cool and exciting is that!! It’s terrifying in the best way, but getting to share it is one of the best feelings ever!

This is great! Thank you! If you don’t mind, I’d love to see the list of questions!

Of course! Lemme rummage around and find them…

Here’s the one I used for the second draft of Gilded Blood!

Overall
Did you enjoy reading the manuscript?
If you could change one plot point, what would it be?
What was an aspect that stood out to you? (Positive or negative)
Which of the plot points surprised you? Which plot points did you predict ahead of time?
Did anything seem annoyingly cliche to you?

Structure
What sections of the plot bored you or annoyed you?
Did the story generally feel cohesive or were there large tonal/pacing shifts?
Was there ever a moment where your suspension of disbelief was broken?
Which scene do you remember best, and why?
Which scene did you have the strongest emotional reaction to?

Characters
What were the points where one of the characters annoyed you?
Were there too many characters, or not enough?
Which character did you want to get more screentime, and which character needs less?
Who was your favorite character, and why? Did your favorite character change throughout the story?
Did you connect with the main character?
Which character were you indifferent about?
Did the character arc feel strong or was it paced too quickly?
Were there any characters you got confused?
What was your favorite character relationship?
Were the characters’ motivations clear and logical?

Worldbuilding
Was the world over-developed or underdeveloped?
Were the descriptions interesting? Were there enough?
Was the story atmospheric?
What place do you remember best?
Did the cultures feel too close to reality or too disconnected from it?

This was the list I gave my readers ahead of time! Afterwards, I’d add a few specific spoilery questions of stuff I wasn’t sure of!

Also, fair warning, your betas wil probably answer “Nah, it was fine” to a lot of these things. That’s a good thing! It means you’re on the right track and there’s no obvious flaws!

You can bet I just subscribed!!

Yesss, awesome, thank you!