SIMON SAYS – The Importance of Editing and Revising

It’s virtually impossible to overemphasize the importance of editing and revision to authors, whether they are published or not. The proliferation of personal home pages and blogs online in recent years has resulted in countless creative outlets for the aspiring writer, but these pages all too often can be filled with sloppy writing. Good editing and a thorough revision process are generally what separate those writers who have the ability to earn money from their craft from those who don’t. I always stress this to both students and adult writers during my school visits, author in residence programs and writing workshops. Even if you only check your story once, it never gets any worse and nearly always improves.

For The Alchemist’s Portrait, my first novel, there are over twenty versions of the manuscript, with the earliest one bearing little resemblance to the finished novel. I take both of these documents, the initial submission to the publisher, and the final one, containing the editor’s comments and suggestions, along with my notes, to all my school visits to show teachers, students and indeed writers at conferences and those who attend my adult workshops, just how much work actually goes into getting the story into print. Is reading through your work over and over again, checking for errors, making amendments or additions or correcting typos, maddeningly tedious and frustrating? Yes, at times it undoubtedly is, but without the editing and revision process, you are unlikely to attract the attention of a publishing house.