Some writers will often wonder and sometimes reach out to people in the writing community to ask if they should be editing during the writing process or wait until their first draft is finished. I have experience with both of these methods and in this blog, I would like to share my thoughts on the pros and cons of each method.
The Necessity of Editing
The bottom line—before we even get into a methodology—is that you will need to edit your manuscript once it’s finished regardless of whether you edited it whilst you wrote. And most likely, you will need to do multiple edits before your manuscript is in a good enough condition to query or self-publish.
Should I Pay for an Editor?
Now, unless you are self-publishing, I don’t recommend paying for an editor. This is because if you’re planning on going the traditional route, someone will edit your work for free. It’s part of the publishing process. You will work with this person to make changes to your manuscript before it moves on to the next step toward getting your work on the shelves. If you are planning on self-publishing, I would recommend paying for an editor if you can. They can be quite expensive, but it’s hard to produce a high-quality final product without having a professional or at least someone else take a look at your work for various errors.
Pros of Editing During Writing
You get a better-quality first draft
If you’re editing while you write, you will most likely have a better-quality first draft. This can make it easier to jump into the second draft without having to weed through all of the grammatical errors.
You save yourself from being overwhelmed
Sometimes, when you get to the editing stages, you feel completely swamped by the amount of work you have to do. You can take some of that away by editing while you write.
Keeps you critically thinking about your story
If you want to keep a critical eye on your story while it’s developing, editing while you write is a good way to do this. If you’re someone who likes to create an outline or plan before you write, you might prefer this option to help you stick to it.
Cons of Editing During Writing
You’re splitting your focus
Some would argue that you shouldn’t bother with editing while you write because you should be focusing on what matters—the writing. Accept that errors will accumulate but that you can fix them once you’re done.
You’re halting progress
It takes a lot of effort to write an entire book. If you’re a first time writer, this achievement can feel like cause for celebration, because it is. If you’re editing while you write, it might be more difficult to hit your word count goals.
It can frustrate you
When you’re stopping to fix errors or change things all the time as you write, it can start to frustrate you. You might start to feel imposter syndrome creeping in, or you might doubt your writing ability or the chances of you getting the project done. Forget all of that and just enjoy writing until it’s time to edit.
Why I Prefer Editing After a First Draft
For many of the reasons mentioned above and more, I prefer to simply edit once I’m done with a first draft. I’m not someone who likes to outline or do extensive planning before I get into writing. I like to just sit down and write without doing any heavy critical thinking; I like to let the words flow, so to speak. And sometimes you need to rely on that creative mindset so you don’t start heeding thoughts about if you’re good enough or if anyone will like your story.
Editing after is also allowing me to reach my daily writing goals, which I do like to have. Not everyone will want or need a word count goal, but for me I find it fun and rewarding to see my progress and set goals that are both challenging and rewarding. Don’t get me wrong, making small changes as I write isn’t a big deal if it’ll only take a minute. But getting into that “editing” mindset is like a switch. I can’t go from one to the other very easily. Saving the editing for when the first draft is over is better for staying focused on one thing at a time.
Lastly, I love editing almost as much as writing. For that reason, I don’t want to spoil the editing phase by focusing on getting words down. Most of the time, you will have to do some writing as you edit, but this doesn’t come as a result of my goal of creating something new. It comes as a result of my needing to fix something I already wrote. But everyone is different! You have to do what works best for you, and sometimes you won’t know what that is until you try different methods. Go for it!
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