Draft #4

I’ve frequently been asked, usually by writers still trying to find their way, how many drafts I write of a book. I never have a good answer. Or when I give one, I inevitably make myself a liar while working on the next book. 

But right now, I’m starting on Draft #4 of my current Work in Progress, which, by the way, is due to my publisher on December 1. However, my Draft #4 is likely very different from your Draft #4. 

Let me break it down. 

The first draft is a free-for-all. I may or may not have an outline. If I do, it’s sparse and not carved in stone, so I’m slinging words on the page to see if they work or not. It often sucks. But even Draft #1 isn’t a rough first draft by the time I reach the end. Each day, I re-read the previous day’s work and make tweaks before I start fresh. Once a month, I send pages to my critique group for feedback. I may or may not incorporate that feedback while I’m still powering through the word-slinging phase, but there are always a few comments that deeply resonate for me. I will definitely go back and make adjustments to address those issues. 

Once I reach THE END, I save the manuscript, retitled Draft #2. I make a few more fixes overall, specifically to make sure the ending makes sense. A little adding, a little deleting. I change some details that have been bugging me. Then I send it off to my beta readers. These are colleagues who haven’t seen even a word of it before. They get to review the entire story to let me know if it holds together. 

Draft #3 is where I gather all my notes from my critique buddies and beta readers and begin back at Chapter One. 

I have just finished that one. Another version has now been labeled Draft #4. I still have a notebook full of scribbles about details to add and words to cut. Some of the bigger issues from my critique and beta notes needed a more thorough addressing than I did in Draft #3. Those are part of my scribbles. 

Since my deadline is approaching with the speed of a runaway freight train, I’ll use Read Aloud as I start over. That way, I can also catch typos and missing words as I make my way through the pages. Double duty! 

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