Nathan Bransford | Writing, Book Editing, Publishing

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How Long Does it Take You to Edit a Novel?

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Last week people shared how long it takes you to write a draft. Today: How long does it take you to edit?

This is very much on my mind as I’m back in the editing weeds for Jacob Wonderbar and the Interstellar Time Warp, which I’ve now been editing for over three months. That is typical for me. After doing my own editing after finishing a draft I then usually go through two major rounds with my editor (the fabulous Kate Harrison), and then there’s further tinkering and tweaks from there.

All that adds up to three or four months (with another week or two left to go on this one).

What about you?

Art: Anonymous

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Eric says

    I do about 14 read-thrus, chopping here and there, rewriting this and that… One round with my wife and friends. And then maybe 3 more read-thrus to tweak this and that.

  2. Darnell Reid says

    It takes me about two revise before I finally get to the final draft. Then I has to do a little more here and there. Then I give it to my editor which she send back for a rewrite then I'm finish.

  3. Anonymous says

    It's been over a year so far for me even though it took less than a year to write the first draft. When I think I'm done narrowing it down and detailing it enough, I find more that needs to be tweaked. Also the when-will-you-be-done-with-that-thing voice in my head (or silently from those around me) doesn't help at all.

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