And just like that, you’ve completed your book. You breathe a sigh of relief, and suddenly, a new rush of emotion washes over you as you realize that this was just the beginning. Now you have to go over what you’ve written with a fine-tooth comb. This portion of the process is known as the revision stage.

This stage can, by far, be the most difficult in the entire writing process. However, we’re here to help ease the difficulty by providing you with three easy book revision tips that you can apply to your work.

Let’s get started.

Get organized.

First things first, you’re going to want to get organized. You should approach the revision stage like you did when you were writing your book. Come in with a game plan and a checklist of what you want to accomplish each time you sit down to work. By writing down what exactly you want to achieve, you’ll be able to focus your attention on one area at a time.

Take note of ideas.

A fresh set of eyes will allow you to see things you might not have seen while you were in the midst of writing. That’s why it’s imperative to keep a notebook or a new file readily available to jot down your new ideas, notes or additions to your book. If you don’t write them down, you likely won’t remember them, so take the time to note them so you can come back later and determine how you can incorporate these new ideas into your work.

Keep an eye out for typos.

The revision stage is the time to go through your work with a fine-tooth comb searching relentlessly for typos. Don’t be alarmed at the amount of typos you’ll uncover! When you were writing, you didn’t want to be slowed down by checking your grammar and spelling, you just wanted to get your ideas on paper.   Now that you’re in the revision portion of the process, this is where you can really be on the lookout for any misspellings. A great way to see if there are glaring issues is by reading the words aloud. This will help you pick up on any strange sentence structures, misused words, words that might be spelled correctly but aren’t used accurately, etc.

If you’re nearing the revision stage or are currently working through it, keep these three tips in mind to help you along the way.

Copyright Dorrance Publishing, 2017