What gets scheduled gets done.
That was a truth I read in Michael Hyatt’s book “your best year ever.” I’ll say the year I read it turned out to be my worst year ever, simply because sometimes external forces we have no control over impact our lives. However, I do recommend the book because – despite that – it has steps to see any change through, any project through.
If you do not have a method to measure the progress of your novel’s editing, you’re wasting your time. Like the entire year I was supposed to edit some novels and get them ready for publication – that entire year was wasted effort. I was able to develop at long last a system to edit my novels, but I did not make sure they were SMART goals – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Risky and Time keyed.
- Specific goal – to edit the book “Countdown to Armageddon – the Missing.” Non specific is “edit all my novels.” That’s where I went afoul that year – my scope was far too broad.
- Measurable – I need to be able to measure moving through the editing phases. This means I have to first identify those phases, and use a process where I can know when that process is done, and which one to go to next. Otherwise, you just read through your novel a dozen times.
- Achievable – Can I edit my own novel? Once I’ve identified which steps will give that result, yes it is.
- Risky – you have to break out of your comfort zones. Editing your novel a step at a time means you have to eventually submit it. That’s a risk. If you do this, you risk rejection. If you do not, nothing happens. Take the risk.Edit your novel.
- Time Keyed – You have a specific deadline. If I say, “I will complete the edit phase of The Missing by December 1”, I now have a time keyed deadline. By breaking each edit phase (I have nineteen of them) down to fit within that deadline, I will have a series of achievable goals – really, three weeks or so between edit phases. Give each edit phase a specific deadline, or you’ll miss the final deadline, guaranteed. This is not negotiable. This was how you wrote your NaNoWriMo novel – you set a deadline (November 30) and determined intermediate goals (1667 words a day). By focusing on 30 separate steps of 1667 words and making the deadlines for each step non-negotiable, you met your goal. Editing the novel should be the same.
How to do it
The first step to editing my novel should be a structure edit – I have to know if I actually hit the inciting incident by page 30, Act II 25% of the way through the novel, and Act III 75% of the way through the novel.
Absolutely, that’s first step. Don’t do this, and you might as well hang it up. We want people to enjoy the novel, not be bored. So, set up a two week deadline. First night, create the Excel spreadsheet. Second night, input page numbers, third night, open it and look at how things are. Now you know. So, add notes to the index cards in scrivener – “need to be at page 110, need to finish by page 112”. This way you don’t have to repeat this step.
Next, adjust your deadlines. Did you save time on this step? It’s a quick one, really. Did that earn you more time on the next steps? I bet it did. Apply, adjust your timelines. You just followed the “Measurable” “Specific” and “Time keyed” steps.
What’s the rest of the edit steps? Well, go get your own! You’ll have to wait for my “how to edit your novel like a pro” book! (Yes, I have that one in the works…)
Conclusion
Taking the proper steps makes sure you achieve your goals. Work S.M.A.R.T.’er, not harder! Set a deadline, and you’ll achieve it every time – set too broad a goal, and you’ll end up only with regrets!
