Editing was very essential for Rebecca Hamilton during the final stages of writing The Forever Girl.

I got the sense from corresponding with her she felt that it was not raw talent that got her noticed by an agent, but the willingness to dive in her pages over and over again. 

Though her answers below are brief, Hamilton reveals a lot of her editing secrets.

Straight from the author’s mouth: Her editing habits revealed

Can you tell us about The Forever Girl Series? Why did you choose to write this series? Initially I intended a stand alone book. As I wrote, one of the characters took over. By the time I finished the first book, it had become a trilogy. While editing, more ideas and depth to the story emerged. The trilogy turned into a series of 7 novels.

How long did it take you to write The Forever Girl Volume One? Can you talk about your writing process? The first volume took me about 4 years from start to finish. I get the story down quickly (it took me two months). Then I had to rewrite and rewrite and rewrite. I had to rewrite a lot because this was my first book. Then I had to revise and edit and proofread. It was more work than it sounds like, and I couldn’t have done it without the support of my beta readers, critique partners, and editors.

 Any editing tips? Make a list. I have a list for rewrites that are specific to each story. I make this list after the read through in order to base it off of feedback from my beta reader. I also have a list of revision techniques I’ve picked up in books and articles I’ve read. The list keeps me focused. I recommend it to anyone who finds the process of editing overwhelming.

If you could share one tip you learned with self-published authors who share the same dream of being a successful author what would it be? I’d recommend a few books that I think helped me most: Deepening Fiction and The Fire in Fiction. Those two books made the biggest difference in my writing and my understanding of the writing craft.