Are We There Yet?

Hello writing friends!

Do you remember how it felt as a child riding in the car with your parents? If you were in the company of siblings, your bravest sib asked the question most parents aren't fond of: "Are we there yet?" After finishing a manuscript you may ask yourself, when will I arrive at my desired destination? How many rewrites must I do?

Your First Draft

Getting your first draft out is a lot of work. You've come up with a plot, a setting and your protagonist. You've added secondary characters. You've figured out the main conflict, and even the resolution. After tons of work, you hit the finish line. The End! But is it? Oh, no. After all that work, you have a lot more to do—revisions—several of them.

How Many Revisions?

If you write for children, you can count on three to ten drafts before your book is finished. The average is five to six, but if you write picture books, that could be more. With picture books, every word must count!

The Process

Ideally, if you're able, your first draft should be kind of messy. It's been said, if you can just write out your entire story without worrying about spelling, punctuation, or word count, you're better off. Just get it down on paper. You can focus on the latter with the drafts that follow.

What to Look For

As you start to edit your manuscript, you'll want to pay attention to any holes in your plot. Check the pacing of your story. Your goal is to have it gain momentum to keep readers interested. Review your beginning, middle, and end. They need to make sense.

What's Next?

In your next revisions, watch for repetitive words or phrases. Look for unnecessary words. Delete them all! Reread the dialog in your story. Do each of your characters have their own verbal style that sets them apart from others?

The Test Supreme

Once you've worked through all of the above and you're feeling comfortable with your manuscript, the next step is important. Start by reading your story out loud to yourself. Then, if you have a writing critique group, let someone read your manuscript to the group so you can hear how it flows. Best of all, if you're able, read your story to a group of children in your target age range. That's super fun and children are (painfully, at times) honest.

Lastly

Put your editor's hat on and inspect your entire manuscript for correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling. You can do any of the items listed above in the order that feels good to you. When will you know your book is finished? All I can say is, you'll know when you know. It's a gut feeling, and you will feel completely happy and satisfied.

Completing a manuscript from beginning to the polished end is an awesome feeling! Now that your book is finished and amazing, next week I'll get into your submission choices. There's a lot to discuss here!

Thanks for reading. See you then!