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Cover to Cover IV: Learning to Love Editing

This is the fourth entry in my Cover to Cover series which follows a story idea from inception until potential publication.

Several months back in my third entry, I talked about owning a first draft and how to get through it to the end. Well, in August of this year I finished my first draft. Allow me a moment to do a happy dance. I spent the next two months editing. I’ve made it publicly known to anyone that will listen how much I hate editing.

Something happened through the process though. I started to actually enjoy my editing sessions. “Love editing? I’d sooner feed myself to a chimera.” Maybe. But I’ll show you how I changed from an edit-hater to an edit-relisher.

Cover to Cover III: Owning a First Draft

by Philip Overby

This is my third entry in my Cover to Cover series which follows a novel from inception to potential publication. It’s interesting to note since I started doing this, my novel has changed quite significantly. Most notable is that I completed a first draft last month.

If you’ve ever completed a long first draft, then you know how time-consuming and rewarding it can be to type “The End.” I was elated. It’s done, right? Well, no. The dreaded edit comes next. However, sometimes just getting the first draft down can be quite a slog for many writers.

So how do you get from inkling of an idea to a completed first draft? I’ll tell you how I did it and hopefully it will be of some help to others.

Cover to Cover II: From Idea to Story

by Philip Overby

Last time on Cover to Cover, I introduced this series of articles, which follows a novel from birth to potential publication. The previous entry was all about ideas. How to grow them, nurture them, and expand them.

This time I’m going to show you how to take that idea and mold it into an actual story. This can be a daunting process.

So your idea is born. You’ve done your “What iffing,” your brainstorming, your smashing of numerous breakable objects. Now you have to go forward. The idea can percolate for a bit, but soon it needs to become an actual story. A story that has characters, a plot, a setting, and all that wonderful, wonderful magic that is going to consume your readers and give them many sleepless nights.

Cover to Cover: From Inception to Publication

by Philip Overby

All good books start from somewhere.

That inkling of an idea sparked by reading a great book, taking an afternoon walk, or even being walloped over the head by the muse. Time passes. Maybe months, maybe years.

You see that idea grow into a story concept, the story concept become a rough outline, the outline become a story, the story become a published novel. Sounds easy, right?

Yeah, don’t we all wish.

When I was approached with the idea of creating a series of articles that followed from that twinkling of an idea to the process of trying to publish a finished novel I thought, “Wow, this will be quite the daunting task.” However, I was up for the challenge.