Global revision

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Global revision is the first revision performed by an author after receiving the editorial assessment letter.

The term "rewrites" can be used to refer to the many drafts the ensue once editing begins. Writers can also group the process together under the umbrella term "editing", but it's important to help them understand "editing" to refer to the work an editor does, while "rewriting" and "revising" is the work they do. When the writer plays the role of editor on their own work, this is given the term self-editing.

Global revision is the rewrite during which a writer is given the most latitude. A writer might add/delete/modify characters, add/delete/modify scenes, change voice or point of view, change structure, alter style, change execution to match premise, or change story based on better defining premise.

PROCEDURE

• Read over the letter and reflect, taking notes of discrepancies
• Discuss with editor and ensure all areas of disagreement are resolved before proceeding
• Execute on a rewrite strategy
• Deliver rewrites back to the the editor who did the editorial assessment, using color-coding (not track changes) to show new material

OBJECTIVE

The objective of an global revision is to address global issues as identified in the editorial assessment.

Assumptions:

• Rewrites will be seen by the same editor and that editor will do a more thorough developmental edit pass to address local issues.
• Author is encouraged to go above and beyond the editorial assessment, but where direction deviates, should consult with editor
• Colored font will be used to show sections where new writing has occurred

Global vs. local rewriting

Global rewriting involves making changes that affect the entire manuscript. Local rewriting on the other hand involves changes that will impact a smaller part, for example, a given scene or part of a scene.

Local rewriting should occur after global rewriting. For example, it doesn't make sense to perfect the touches in a given scene when you are later going to radically change the structure of a story and delete that entire scene. This is why an editorial assessment comes first and the writer's first task is to address global rewrites. After the global rewrites, the editor will do a developmental edit and will provide comments that encourage local rewriting. For instance, the author might alter a scene to match the plot development (global rewriting), as identified in the editorial assessment, then using the developmental edit feedback, fine-tune the pacing in that scene where it become rushed (local rewriting)

Although it is tempting, it's imperative that the author not get too carried away with perfectionism in the global revision. They can alleviate this concern by knowing a developmental edit will follow and further tightening requirements will give them time to perfect the prose on a line-by-line basis.

Using the Editorial Letter

Upon receipt of the editorial letter, the author needs to process the material. It's wise to read it over thoroughly once, step away and think (ideally for 1-2 days), then read it again critically. At this point, the author can make a list of the points they disagree on, or which they require discussion on.

They then will confer with the editor in a collaborative fashion, keeping in mind that the suggestions are meant as starting points to inspire rewriting, not strict requirements.

In the discussion which ensues, ideally the author should leave with all issues resolved. If the editor has suggested cutting a character but the author feels this character is important to highlight the theme of the book, then ideally the discussion should lead to a middle ground wherein the editor identifies if the character stay, then issues X, Y, and Z must be addressed.

Discussion can take the form of a live call, or back-and-forth emails. Emails on an email thread are most efficient as they allows later reference for both editor and author, and time between discussion points so that the author and editor can reflect if needed.

Once all issues are resolved, the author will make a revision checklist, or a revision road map. The purpose of this is to allow them to approach revision strategically and address all issues in an organized and efficient manner.

Revision road map / checklist

The most efficient way to create a revision road map is to take the editorial assessment letter you received and break it down into a list.

It helps to rank it in order of easy, moderate, hard. Then, proceed in order of easiest to hardest.

Easy issues are issues that take a few minutes to fix. For instance, if the editor was confused about a character name, you can pick an alternate name and run a "search" and replace all names with the new name.

Moderate issues are issues that take about 20-40 minutes to fix each. For instance, if the assessment letter identifies overuse of the word "oh" in dialogue, you will have to go through every instance of the word "oh" and decide in each spot if it suits that given character.

Hard issues are issues that take more than 40 minutes each, sometimes a few hours each, and in general they are not fixable with the "search" feature and require a complete comb over the novel. For instance, if a character's motivations aren't showing through, that requires going over the entire novel in every place the character is present and addressing the prose there.

Very hard issues is a fourth unofficial category that is helpful for the author to identify their biggest challenge. This should be saved for last. An example of this would be if the book has to be changed from first person to third, or if the voice isn't consistent, or if the book has to be rewritten based on exploring what the premise actually is. Depending on how radically the very hard issues are (hopefully there will only be one) you might want to do these first, given that radical changes to the novel might alter the author's approach to other issues based on the new storytelling that emerges.

EXAMPLE ROAD MAP

Easy

• Change character A name to B
• Cut back on overuse of the word "overly"

Moderate

• Check word "felt" and try to reduce by showing if relevant
• Check word "and" and go to every sentence and see if they can be made to two sentences to reduce overuse of conjunctions

Hard

• Go over every scene with character C and ensure their emotional reactions aren't erratic
• Go over every scene and cut out world-building dumps where they derail story
• Make dialogue by character D less stilted

VERY hard

• add character X as a major character and write new ending based on the new premise