If You Remember This Song

YOU'RE OLD!!

“I need you to significantly reduce the word count in the manuscript,” my senior editor said on the phone.

“Okay,” I replied. “What’s the current word count?”
 

“One hundred thousand words—and I need the finished manuscript down to 55,000.”

Oh, that’s going to be fun, I said with my inside voice. 

Years ago, I was asked to rewrite a manuscript for an author whose previous book, written fifteen years before, sold 300,000 copies. His newest rendition needed A LOT of work, but I could see a diamond in the rough.

Creating a finished manuscript meant I would probably need to pare it down to around 45,000 words and then write it up. I knew the work would be painful, but worth it.

At least half of the manuscripts I read, suffer from the same problem.

Today, I’m going to show you how to fix it.

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No Pain, No Gain

If you’re like most people, you can become a fairly good writer. But taking your writing from good to great, well, that requires a little courage.

Every writer suffers from unclear and wordy writing.

That includes you…and me.

Thousands of revisions separate a mediocre manuscript from a great one. And often, these revisions involve making painful cuts.

It hurts so good.

Our generation suffers from the shortest attention span in human history. That’s why you must begin with the assumption that your audience has ADHD. Any extraneous word, paragraph, or (gulp!) chapter and your reader will…

LOOK—A SQUIRREL!

Paring down your manuscript is a normal part of the writing process. It’s okay to be a little wordy in your first draft, but eventually you’re going to need to “kill your darlings,” as William Faulkner and later Stephen King advised.

You need to pare down your manuscript at both the book level (the forest), and the sentence level (the trees). 

Let The Cutting Begin!

Here are five painful easy ways to get started:

Secret #1. Cut chapters.

A bloated manuscript usually indicates a weak table of contents (TOC). Your TOC serves as your book's outline.

When I rewrote the author’s book, I spent a week playing around with the TOC. I pulled out eleven sheets of paper (the number of chapters) and wrote the old premise and chapter titles on each page.

Then I asked an important question: which chapters could I cut that wouldn’t change or diminish the premise?

After playing around with the TOC, I realized I could cut two lo-o-o-ong chapters. 

“Mike, you don’t understand,” the author howled. “The book won’t be the same without those chapters.” 

Exactly, I said with my inside voice. 

“Believe me,” I said with my outside voice. “This is going to make your book much stronger. Think ‘less is more.’”

Read that again.

Look for overlapping themes in your chapters. You only need to make your point once. Delete one chapter or merge the two—just make sure you’re actually making a significant cut.

Mercilessly cutting, if done correctly, will always make your book stronger.

When a massive pare-down is required, always, always begin by evaluating and reordering your table of contents, and then cutting chapters.

It hurts so good!

Secret #2. Delete All Unnecessary Scenes or Sections.

If a scene or section doesn’t directly contribute to your premise, put it out of your misery.

Think Jenga, the popular game built around removing blocks of wood without causing the tower to collapse. You want to remove every errant subplot, point, quote, conversation, or story that isn’t necessary to keep your premise or point intact.

That was the next step I took with the author’s book. His chapters averaged almost 10,000 exhausting words, so I had my work cut out for me.

Pun intended.

Here’s an easy fix: when quoting another book, only include the part of the quote that is germane to your point or premise. I’ve read manuscripts with 200- or 300-word quotes. Please, spare your reader. Cut the unrelated portions and replace them with ellipses (…).

If a portion of the chapter does not directly contribute to your book’s message, then it’s no more than a distraction. Nice tangents have no place in your manuscript.

Here’s how to lessen the pain… 

Secret #3. Create an “Extras” Document for Every Chapter.

Don’t delete anything. If it doesn’t directly fit into your storyline or message, just cut and paste it into an Extras document. It certainly alleviates a great deal of the pain.

I might use these snippets later in another piece of writing, you can tell yourself. 

Actually, you probably won’t, but instead of killing your darlings, you’re just putting them down for a nap.

I did it with my author’s book twenty years ago and I’m doing it now with the current book I’m slogging through writing.

Either way, the fact that the work isn’t gone forever should put your mind at ease. This also reinforces the idea that all of your work matters—it just might not have a place in your book.

Secret #4. Search and Destroy All Unnecessary Words.

This is where we get into the trees—and it usually comes after paring down the forest. Here’s why: you don’t want to waste time working on a chapter that you’re ultimately going to delete. 

If all you do is pare down your sentences, you might be able to reduce your manuscript by a few hundred, perhaps a thousand words. 

Unnecessary words usually consist of more than one adjective, adverb, or clause in a sentence. Why is this important? Multiple descriptors, modifiers, and ideas make sentences more difficult to understand. And what does that do to a reader?

LOOK! A SQUIRREL!!

Here’s an example: 

After the long and tiring day at work, the young and ambitious accountant, who had recently graduated from a prestigious university and was hired by a well-known accounting firm in the heart of the city, decided to walk briskly and purposefully towards his favorite Italian restaurant, which was located on a bustling and noisy street lined with colorful and aromatic food trucks and street vendors selling various snacks and drinks, where he ordered a delicious and satisfying plate of pasta with meatballs and a refreshing and crisp glass of red wine, which he enjoyed while chatting amicably with the friendly and charming waiter who had served him.

Here's what the pared-down version looks like:

The accountant walked to his favorite Italian restaurant on a busy street, ordered pasta with meatballs and red wine, and chatted with the waiter.

Be mindful of the word count of every sentence (the bloated sentence above has 107!). I try to keep my sentences under 30 words. Sometimes much less.

If this kind of editing sounds tough to do, that’s because it is. But I promise you, this will make your writing stronger.

Reducing the wordiness of your manuscript is like a muscle. The more you do it, the better you get at it.

Secret #5. Step Away From Your Manuscript And Read It Later.

After making the painful decision to cut something out of your writing, give your brain time to reset and come back to it when you can be objective. Then ask yourself, Is my writing better without the deleted part?

The answer will probably be a resounding "Yes!" If you’re not sure, this is where a book coach or editor can help. They can be more objective about your work than you. Plus, they have the knowledge that comes from reading and editing many books (not just yours!).

The Rest Of The Story

After rewriting and, actually, ghostwriting the author’s manuscript, the author was apprehensive about my writing skills…until it was released and became a bestseller. After that, both the publisher and author were happy.

Every author needs a team of professionals who value their story or message and are committed to its success. Our book coaches have written multiple, multiple bestsellers. Our veteran copyeditors absolutely know what they’re doing—and some have written bestselling books themselves.

Best of all, they’re kind.

Allowing an outside person, someone you don’t even know, to look at your manuscript, can be scary. We understand.

Schedule a meeting with me today by clicking here, and let's explore the possibilities of your book. 

Let’s bring your book to life!