What is a Structural Edit?

I gather what I've been doing in the last few weeks is called Structural Editing 

Untidy but colourful

Some call it Developmental Editing or even Substantive Editing) It has, and is, in my case, taking a long time. 

I console myself with the thought that it is expensive and that many publishers will no longer accept books that need such work. Which automatically means that it is often beyond the budget of a self-publisher.

I have different personalities when it comes to this argument of hiring editors and having  them "improve" your book. Part of me thinks the whole thing should be my work. Other parts of me think how wonderful  it would be to have someone make these suggestions. I have not yet decided which is my true feeling!

A structural edit isn't beyond the means of a self-published author. It means getting the first two or three drafts done to completion and then leaving it alone for a while. Then go back get out your critical spectacles and look at the whole thing as a reader would. Is the story good, first and foremost? Then does it make sense? Is it believable and satisfying?

At this stage I rearranged one or two scenes to make the sequence flow better. One I brought forward, another I took back; I think I even deleted one totally.

Does your book have themes? Since in this book I'm writing historical romance set in the eleventh century, my themes are the themes of the time. They're very differnet to my Regency and Victorian romances.

Then I look at the characters. Are they differentiated from one another? Do they grow and change, or remain static? Have I described them adequately for the reader?

POV sometimes wanders, so I keep an eye on that. Sometimes I change a secene's POV.

Pace is important. Any section that drags for me will drag for the reader. I change it or delete it so that there is (hopefully!) a slow-build up of tension. Pace and flow often run together, so I'm on the look-out for repetition, contradictory plot points, dead-end conversations and unnecessary backstory. Occasionally I've had to include a missing plot-point or a fact that was needed to allowor avoid  something further down the line.

Dialogue is important and needs to be succinct, minus clutter (ie adverbs, adjectives) and still take the plot forward. I like humour in my dialogue when I can get it, too. 

Finally I'd add Voice. Different books, different plots, different characters all require a voice that is  unique to them. I spend some time considering my POV character's tone of voice, how s/he sees life and try and get this into their thoughts and dialogue.

If you are happy with your story after all that, then perhaps you've just completed a Structural Edit

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