Too Many Drafts?

*Sips coffee* “Ahh what a wonderful day to look over my second draft.” I thought to myself after writing my very first novel. Little did I know, I would be re-writing that book over…and over…and over again. After the twenty-fifth draft, I was mentally tired, to say the least.

No matter what, you will write differently than other people. We all have our way of organizing our books and writing them. That’s totally fine!! As far as how many drafts you should be making to save you time and get your book done within a year, that all depends.

While I was studying through Jericho Writers, a wonderful author had spoken about the best way to look at drafts. The first one is always meant to be crap. It’s just writing down facts of the story that you want in there and not worrying about editing or correct grammar. It’s just your thoughts onto the pages in whatever order makes you happy.

The second draft is editing. This is the longest process. I suggest waiting a week or two before beginning your second draft so that it’s fresh when you read it. And be prepared because it should take you a lot longer than the first draft.

The third draft is your last search for any mistakes before handing it over to your proofreader. To ease your mind for when your given your novel back with a bunch of corrections, there will always be one sneaky bastard that gets past your proofreaders, editors, publishers (if you go with traditional publishing), and your months of scanning. It doesn’t matter how good you are, there will always be one error in a big novel.

After you correct your errors, I again suggest waiting two to three weeks minimum before picking up your book again to read it over. While you wait, you could work on another book, read, or just relax doing something else you enjoy.

Be kind to yourself. Breaks are good!