And, I thought writing the novel was a daunting task. It is more fun, for sure, but editing is tedious mind-numbing work. It can become overwhelming especially to those of us new to the craft of writing novels.

Thank God we have experts to help us along the way. Janice Hardy from Fiction University is one such expert. She is my number one go-to resource.

Janice understands the complexities of self-editing and offers some great advice in her article, How to Edit a Novel Without Feeling Overwhelmed.

The six main points:

1. Decide whether you want to edit or revise. The processes are not the same.
2. Don’t bite off more than you can chew, so to speak. Set a word count, a number of scenes to work on and stick to it – a must when you’re working with 70,000 words plus.
3. Don’t try to cover all the bases, focus on one thing at a time – setting, character, dialogue, and so on.
4. Set a time limit – Time management is a biggy for me. It’s easy to get lost in the process, or become impatient.
5. Leave the advice books on the shelf while you’re editing – love this one! It’s so easy to get caught up in the ‘how-tos’ or the ‘should’s,’ and not get a thing accomplished.
6. Make a plan and let it be your guide – Use a calendar, spreadsheet, or whatever planning tool helps you accomplish your goal.

For more information, check out, How to Edit a Novel Without Feeling Overwhelmed.

I’d love to hear your tips. Talk to me. Tell me your story. I’m all ears and look for me on Facebook at SheilaMGood,  Pinterest,  Bloglovin, Twitter@sheilamgood, Contently, and Instagram. You can follow my reviews on Amazon and Goodreads.