When is the manuscript done? It seems like a never ending process. I am close to finishing the first draft of the novel I'm currently working on. I plan to go through editing checklists, read it aloud, bring it to my critique group, give it to readers. Spellcheck. Etc.
There is always more to check, change or fix.
When is it done?
For prolific authors who write books every year or every six months, who have contracts, they must have a time when they say, okay this is it. Stop.
Does it help to have a deadline?
Writing is probably their full time job and they are probably assigned editors who check & recheck their work. Still...sometimes it's got to be hard to let go.
I feel like the more I write, the more I learn. That can either help or hinder me. I remember during the time I was writing my first manuscript I learned about POV. I had to go through and check all my scenes. Many of them included head-hopping.
Another time, I learned about dialog tags, same thing.
But then there's the times when I'm afraid to use a word that's perfect in a sentence because it ends in ly.
Can you edit to death?
I think so. Your story needs YOUR voice. Grammar is one thing, but keep your voice.
And after awhile youhave to let it go. Send it out.
Then, when your manuscript is picked up, let the experts tell you what to fix.
And start a new one.
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This is a huge struggle for me, Christine! I tinker and tinker with a manuscript until I reach a place where I just can't read it again. And I agree with you --- there is definitely a point where it makes sense to let an editor tell you what needs revision. They know what they are looking for and are capable of seeing things that we simply miss as the writer.
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