Every Draft to Go Through Before Seeking Representation

Happy Friday, my lovelies! Recently I finished the first draft of my second novel, a young adult enemies-to-lovers romance. I was so excited to write the end after my last sentence before I realized that in a month I would have to dissect and grind through my manuscript once again. It is common knowledge among writers that the first draft is simultaneously the easiest and hardest draft to get through. It's the easiest because you don't have to worry about it being perfect, but it's the hardest because you start with a blank page and have to create everything from it. But it's not the only draft, so today I am going to share with you every single draft I go through before I even think of querying agents.

The First Draft

Oh boy, the first draft. You think you have a story idea, but you have yet to put it on the page. My first draft is all about getting the story down even if my grammar is off or it's a little choppy in some scenes. Things might not flow exactly the way you want them, but the most important part of this draft is to get the words down. There will be plenty of time to revise and edit and fix and rewrite in the future, but focusing on that in this draft will just slow you down.

Now, how you go about the first draft depends on the type of writer you are. Are you an outliner or a pantser? Do you like Microsoft Word or Google Docs? Do you want to write for a specific amount of time each day, or do you want to hit a certain word count? At the end of the day, it doesn't matter what you do, but you have to know yourself before you can know your story.

The Second Draft

You finished your very first draft, and maybe you've taken some time away from it to clear your head before you start again. The second draft is grueling work, not for the weak. Now, you have to go through and overhaul your entire manuscript. The second draft is all about rewriting, refitting, and strengthening the manuscript. The heaviest work you will do is in this draft, so don't be afraid to get rid of spots that weaken your manuscript.

For this draft, and all others for that matter, I print out my entire manuscript and use red pen to meticulously go through chapter by chapter, scene by scene. Only after I have finished my handwritten notes will I even touch the manuscript on my computer. This draft usually takes me a couple months at minimum, but that's only because of how in-depth I go with my edits. Actually transferring the notes from paper to computer doesn't take more than a couple weeks.

The Third Draft

At this point, your manuscript is probably looking strong, but you're nowhere close to being done. The third draft should be your final touch-ups before you choose to send it to a professional editor or beta readers. Not much really happens in this draft except for fixing small mistakes. Grammar, side character arcs, typos, or rearranging the order of scenes all fall into this draft, but there should not be any heavy writing done.

The Fourth Draft

I like to send my manuscript to a professional editor at this stage in the drafting process. My mind is usually so tired of my story that I might not find problems that an editor would easily catch. This is your reminder, though, that a professional editor is not necessary. You can very well choose not to hire an editor and do this draft on your own or use a critique group of other writers to do the same thing. I personally like getting an editor because I believe there is always room for me to grow as a writer. Reedsy is by far the best platform I have used so far for professional editing, and having someone else edit helps extend your break in between drafts, which is essential to writing a manuscript.

The Fifth (and final) Draft

Beta readers, beta readers, beta readers! They are so so important for writers before you choose to go querying agents. I highly reccommend finding a group online instead of asking family or friends to read your manuscript because they might not critique it in the way that needs to be done. Beta readers also need to be reader; it might seem self-explanatory, but you can't pick a random person on the side of the road to be your beta reader.

Long story short, beta readers are invaluable to your journey to publication, and I have had agents in the past ask if I have had beta readers while pitching to them during writers conferences. If you can't find beta readers, a writing group could substitute for beta readers in some ways. The most important part of beta reading is to get a readers perspective, so find readers! They don't need to edit like a professional editor needs to; they should point out any character or plot problems, however.

These are the minimum number of drafts I do for any manuscript, but how much drafting I do for a project depends entirely on the strength of the concept and the initial writing. Drafting takes time, and I will take a minimum of one month between each draft to ensure that I will be looking at the manuscript with fresh eyes for the next draft. Now that you know my process, I hope that will help you start on your own process. Every writer is different, and some people might combine multiple drafts into one or use several drafts to address one specific problem. Whatever the case, all writers will agree on the importance of perservering however long it takes you to create your manuscript, and perfection is impossible to attain. Keep at it until you get as close to perfection as possible!