Slowly but surely I'm making my way through first round revisions of Big Joe. I think of progress in terms of the quality of the revision, not the quantity. I'm not going to kick myself if one day I only get through a couple of pages because the next day I might complete five.
I've read and re-read my picture books and they're just not where I want them so I may set them aside, finish a couple I have half-written and see what happens. It's tough enough revising a novel but picture books? It's just crazy because each word truly means so much. I'm so fond of narrative ("I like to write long-winded scenes") that it's difficult for me to cut as many words as I'll need to in the picture books.
Back to Big Joe: It's pretty imperative I finish the first round of edits within two weeks. My desire is to have the manuscript query-ready by the end of June and that can only happen if I make significant process. What that means is amping up the production. Yes, I know I said above I wouldn't kick myself but realistically, I need to be revising 10 pages per day, minimum. I'll let you know how it's progressed next week.
In the meantime, what shortcuts have you found when revising? What tools have you found helpful?
Shortcuts? If you find any that truly work, email me. ;)
ReplyDeleteBy the time I'm done revising I almost hate the thing. JK