People often ask how much has Fireborne changed since its first draft, and honestly I can think of No Better Question for a young writer. The answer is “a lot”–or more accurately, “whatever you think ‘a lot’ is, and then imagine doing that ‘a lot’ more times than you can count.” Nothing drove home the reality of revision as much as this document comparison software, which is designed for teachers looking for plagiarism, but also useful to authors comparing changes between drafts. Here’s a look at how much changed at each stage of Fireborne‘s revisions, from its first draft in 2015 to the final that will print in 2019.
Revising on my own (2015-17)
I completed a first draft in spring of 2015 and continued to revise it, on and off, for the next two years while querying agents. Beta reads from friends and family were crucial at this stage. From the first draft that I sneakily sent my husband to print on his office printer, to the version that my agent offered on, I ended up completely rewriting about 50% of what I began with.
Revising with my agent (summer 2017)
My agent made the bold and wise call to consolidate what had been a 3-POV story into a 2-POV story, which involved rewriting the 25% of the book that the third POV had previously narrated.
Revising with my editor (2017-18)
Around the time my book sold, I remember my husband remarking “But what more editing could you do? It’s ready to go.” Famous last words. I revised for another year, completely rewriting 83% of the book. Yes, you read that right. For more details about the sort of revisions worked on during that year, see my blog post about it. TLDR: pacing and character arcs.
OVERALL (2015-19)
From first to final draft, less than 10% remained the same. Which goes to show: writing really is in the rewriting. Have fun with your first draft but don’t be afraid to let it go.
