Congratulations! You’ve finished your first draft. It’s not perfect, but here’s a trade secret…no one’s first draft is. Sometimes, when you look at all those pretty words you just wrote, you can’t imagine that any of them need to be edited, moved around, or (gasp!) cut. But, that’s the true process of writing a fiction novel. It takes rounds of revisions, of restructuring, refining, and tweaking, until your manuscript is in its final form. So, where do you start? Here are six steps to creating a revision plan.

The first, and probably most important, step to creating a revision plan is actually the easiest: let your manuscript sit. That’s right, you heard me. Bury it in a drawer where you won’t be tempted to look at it, for at least a month or two. Taking time away from your manuscript may sound counterintuitive, but let me explain.

When you’re fresh off your first draft, you’re still too close to your words. You just spent hours and hours writing them, after all! But, even the most experienced author will tell you that you shouldn’t jump right from writing the draft into editing. It takes time and distance to start spotting what areas need revisions. So, as hard as it may be, put the draft down, just for a little while. That doesn’t mean you need to stop writing. In fact, the best thing you can do is start working on another piece (not the sequel to your first piece, though). Then, you’ll have one manuscript that requires the hard work of editing, but another fresh manuscript where you can keep writing new words.

Once you’ve let the manuscript sit for a month or two, it’s time to do a read through. At this stage, don’t worry about fixing typos, grammatical errors, or any of the small stuff. Why not? Because at this stage, you need to look for big picture issues. There’s no use in taking the time to hone a sentence in a scene you might cut.

When you’re looking for big picture issues in your manuscript, here are some good questions to ask:

• • Where is your inciting incident? When does it occur? Hint: it should occur within the first thirty pages.
  • What is your main conflict? What does the arc of your plot look like?
  • Do the characters grow/change throughout the story? Yes, all of your characters. Even (especially!) your antagonist.
  • Is there information in the beginning that could be teased out more throughout the manuscript? This is especially a good question to ask if you’re a pantser. While you write as ideas come to you in the drafting stage, in the revision stage, take a hard look at if that whole chunk of backstory needs to be in Chapter One, or if you can spread it out.
  • Are there sections that feel slow or that you wanted to skip? If so, you may want to cut those scenes.
  • Are there any major plot holes that you need to fix? Especially if you’re of the school of “finish the draft, even if there’s an issue,” you may have some dropped plots or characters you need to clean up.

Once you’ve asked those questions and read through your manuscript, you should have a good idea of the major issues that need to be solved. These issues can range from closing up plot holes to refining character arcs to rearranging/cutting scenes to help the pace. Go ahead and do that clean up work now to get you to your second draft.

Now that you have a fairly clean second draft, it’s time to do what most authors dread the most…let someone else read it!

Beta readers are an essential part of the revision process, because they help you spot areas of improvement that you’re too close to see. They’re the ones most likely to point out the darlings in your manuscript that need to be killed off, no matter how much it hurts. They’ll also point out the scenes that gave them the greatest joy, disappointments or missed expectations they may have had, and let you know if that mystery you thought was well-concealed is painfully obvious.

But, how can you make sure your beta readers are giving you valuable feedback and not just the warm and fuzzies? Here’s some tips below:

• • Don’t use your friends. Or, don’t only use your friends. The best beta readers are writers themselves, who understand how a story is structured and what issues to look for. They also know the value of constructive feedback and will tell you the truth about what needs improving, without fear of hurting your feelings. If you don’t have a writing group or other writers you know, try checking out Twitter hashtags like #CPmatch or critique websites like scribophile.com or critters.org.
  • Use both beta readers who love your genre and beta readers outside of it. In-genre beta readers will be able to call out genre-specific issues (like when your first kiss occurs in your romance). Out-of-genre beta readers will be able to take a fresh perspective and may ask questions in-genre readers wouldn’t think to ask.
  • Be clear with your expectations. Come to your readers with a plan. Ask them to keep in mind specific questions as they read. A good rule of thumb is to have them leave in-line comments in the manuscript at the end of each scene (or at least each chapter) with their reactions, then ask them to answer big picture questions at the end. Above all, make sure you set a timeline and delivery schedule. Maybe that’s a chapter a week, or maybe you’re comfortable having them read through the whole manuscript before sending feedback. It’s up to you and each reader, but setting the right expectations is crucial.
  • Know your beta readers’ strengths. If you have a reader that’s great at pointing out grammatical issues but can’t get past the nitpicky details to see the big picture, you may want to have her read a later draft.

After your beta readers have returned their feedback, it’s time to evaluate. But, how do you know what is valid, actionable feedback and what’s just a pet peeve of that reader? This is why it’s important to have more than one beta reader in your network. You want majority rules to outweigh the personal preferences of each reader.

Read through each critique and highlight repeated items. If multiple beta readers are telling you that the beginning is slow, it’s time to take a look at scenes that could be cut. But, if just one reader hated your ending and the rest either didn’t comment on it or loved it, take that feedback with a grain of salt. Once you have your targeted areas of improvement, go back through and revise once again to reach your third draft. At this point, you can either run the book through another round of beta reading (preferably with new readers so you can get a fresh take) or take the next step further.

Professional critiques and editing are a valuable part of the process, especially if you’ve exhausted your beta network or you keep getting rejections if you’re traditionally querying.

Professional feedback is valuable for its lack of bias. An editor wants to make sure your book is as perfect as can be, and they’re willing to have the tough conversations with you. They also have the benefit of a wealth of experience in the publishing industry and an experienced eye when it comes to more nuanced issues like voice and characterization.

There are two professional avenues you can take your manuscript to in its draft phase. The first is a workshop or class environment. Typically in a workshop, you’re asked to submit a section of your manuscript (i.e.: your first chapter) as well as a full synopsis. The instructor (and sometimes your classmates) will read through and point out both grammatical issues as well as big picture issues that they see, both in your pages and in the plot itself. They’ll often give you recommendations on how to attack some of these issues. Workshops are a great learning tool, especially if you’re asked to read others’ manuscripts as well as submit. Sometimes it takes seeing the problem in someone else’s story to realize it’s in your manuscript as well. Be forewarned, though, that the instructor typically won’t be able to read your entire manuscript or give you line-by-line feedback, due to the nature of the workshop.

Outside of workshops, there are a variety of editing services that you can pursue, from developmental editing to tackle big picture problems to proofreading if you’re confident in your story but need fresh eyes to find those typos before you submit or publish. Read up on the differences in editing services before you start looking, so you can make the most educated decision, and always ask for an editor’s portfolio to see what other authors they’ve worked with.

Writing a first draft can be fun and exhilarating, which makes the revision process even more dreaded. But, by following these steps, you can build a successful revision plan that will ensure your book gets in the hands of your readers in the best shape possible!