Rewriting a book may seem like a daunting task, but it’s worth it. Not only will rewriting develop your narrative, but it’ll make you a better writer. Here’s how.

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The Challenge of Rewriting a Book

In college, one of my professors told us that at least half of us wouldn’t write forever. She said we think we love writing, that we tell ourselves we love writing, and since our college’s writing program is built to take our money over telling us the truth, the writing program tells us we love writing. However, she said that half of us weren’t truly up to the task; because writing is more than having a clever idea and getting it down on paper. It’s also the willingness to persevere through the phases of that story idea, to be willing to grow it in a direction we might not even like. Writing is the fun part. Revising is arguably easy if you know what you have to fix. But rewriting is hard because it means you have to be willing to let go of the words that at one point in time you thought were gold; and she warned us that at least half of us were not humble enough for that task.

Mind you, this was a middle-aged Indian woman with a commanding voice and a single black French braid that was always on the fritz by our evening class. At the time, I knew what she meant, but I didn’t understand it. Now, especially after working as an editor, I completely understand. Rewriting a book doesn’t mean your idea was bad, nor does it mean your original writing was bad; it just means there’s a better way to show readers the essence of what you’re trying to tell them. Sometimes, that means changing the words in a sentence. Other times, it can mean putting the characters in a different scene entirely.

My professor was right, most people aren’t open to the idea of redoing parts of their book. They want the original writing to stick and are only willing to fix a few commas and change a couple words. They do this under the guise of thinking their writing is good the way it is, but most of the time it’s because they’re tired, too tired and stubborn to do the necessary work. As a result, their writing doesn’t reach its fullest potential, and it’ll always feel like something is off or missing, something that could’ve been.

The Difference Between Rewriting & Revising

Revising involves reflecting on the writing that’s there and adjusting it. This is when a sentence could be reworded, a paragraph might work better if it comes later, or you might realize the secret should be this instead of that to have greater impact. Rewriting a book comes when elements of the story need to be changed, not simply moved around. A good example might be if you have a protagonist who witnesses a crime and carries the secret with them for most of the novel. As you’re revising, you realize that the story is really a psychological analysis on guilt and that the criminal is actually the more compelling perspective to pursue that analysis. Your idea is still the same, but you can’t revise the protagonist you have to make it fit. You have to rewrite the story from the criminal’s POV.

Rewrites Aren’t the Bad Guy, Your Perception of Them Is

As I mentioned before, getting notes that tell you to rewrite doesn’t mean your story is bad, nor does it mean your writing is bad. I think it’s safe to generalize writers as creative thinkers. We have ideas and those ideas have meaning to us that we ultimately look to share with others through words. The words themselves are small vessels, but the idea – mainly the themes of our narratives – are what matter the most. Rewriting a book is a great task, not only to develop your narratives, but rewriting will make you a better writer. It’ll exercise your creative mind because it pushes you to pick apart your idea and figure out various ways to represent it, and without that kind of probing thinking you won’t grow.

The trick is to not let the task of rewriting dissuade you from staying committed to your idea.

So, Someone told You to Rewrite your Book

One of the most promising rejections to get from an agent or editor is in fact not a rejection at all, but a request for a rewrite. If someone is asking you to rewrite, that means they haven’t said no. That means they see the value of your idea and think the writing itself could do more to promote that idea. The ball is in your court as the writer, to hear this and not make up a rejection in your head.

When we give notes back to writers that address some of the larger scale areas for development in their projects, what we often get back in form of a revision is the same piece with a few corrected word spellings, extra sentences, and adjusted commas. Sometimes, I can almost feel their stubbornness on my side of the computer screen. I can feel their heels dug in, and I can feel how much they just want this version to work. I can feel it because I’ve been there.

I worked on a novel for three years, sent the entire three-hundred-something page manuscript to my mentor, and I was gutted when she responded the next day with a harsh but honest email dissecting the opening and explaining how the issues with my premise and trajectory made it impossible to continue past the first few pages. I cried, I closed my computer and thoughts swarmed in my head about whether or not I was cut out to be a writer after all. Then, after a couple days, when the thoughts went away, I reread the email. With the initial shock stripped away, I could focus on her notes and focus on the fact that she wasn’t saying the idea was bad, she was saying I needed to think of a more efficient approach to presenting it.

After distancing myself from the project, and giving myself a chance to breathe, I was able to open myself to rethinking and rewriting. I reminded myself that without that draft, I wouldn’t have gotten those notes from my mentor, and my story wouldn’t be where it is now. The way I kept myself sane was by not looking at the rewrite like some sign of a previous failure, and by giving myself a break from the previous manuscript. Three years of work was a lot, and the tired part of me didn’t want to do a rewrite. My mistake would’ve been trying to write while I felt like I didn’t want to because then I would’ve associated that unpleasant feeling with my writing and gotten nowhere. However, after that break, the idea was still inspiring me and I dove back in.

Rewriting a book is a big task. Some writers go through multiple revisions, drafts, and even multiple rewrites. The important thing is to remember that your idea, you, and the task itself are all worthy.

Do you want to tell a compelling story that resonates with readers? Let author and editor Rhiannon Richardson help you take your writing to the next level. With her expertise in middle grade, young adult, picture book, and memoir, she can guide you to your best story.