Surviving Gravity - A Writer In Motion Short Story

Final Thoughts

If this all feels daunting, just know that you're not alone.

For those who want to publish their work (traditionally or otherwise), this is but a small snippet of how much editing will go into the final product.

I calculated approximately 10 hrs of editing/1k words of finished draft just for this project.

(10hrs/1k words) x (80,000 words/novel) = 800 hrs of editing/novel.

That's equivalent to working almost 4 months full time.

This is no small thing, and it's exactly why the final shiny product you read on bookstore shelves looks (probably) nothing like that shitty first draft you just wrote.

So just remember, when you start feeling like your work doesn't look anything like the wonderful books you read, editing is where the magic happens.

Do your best to learn to self-edit well (you can start by checking out my book on story craft and editing - The Perfect Story - shameless plug).

Make sure to find some good critique partners and beta readers! Wattpad is full of them! (It's also full of bad ones too, so make sure you can distinguish 😉)

And if you can afford it, I highly recommend a freelance Professional Editor. A traditional publisher will provide this service, but if you're not going the traditional route then it's extra necessary to hire your own. 

If you don't have the money, checkout #Revpit (https://www.reviseresub.com/ ) and #Writementor on twitter! There are many ways to win professional editing for free or reduced cost - these are just two.

I hope you found my Writer In Motion journey to be helpful!

As always, for more #writerinmotion stories and process posts, search the hashtag on twitter!