If you’ve finished a first draft of a book, you’ll be familiar with the feeling of “what next?” I think there’s a lot of sense in a 4 minute video I came across today: a first readthrough. In other words, don’t start to edit line by line – but first, read through the whole document, looking for glaring omissions or unneeded pages – giant pieces which need changing. What’s missing? What is there, but needs tweaked? Is the book strong throughout or is more explanation/scenes/voice necessary?

BookishPixie seems very young, speaks in a high-pitched, overfast delivery (perhaps the result of nerves?) – but talks wisdom way beyond her years.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN FIRST READ THROUGH

For a longer written article on what to look for in the first readthrough – and suggestions of how to mark it up with colour coding – read this blogpost by Gabe.

Creative Takeaways (useful tips to remember)

• When you’re first editing your work, keep thinking “big picture”, huge changes
• Leave a trail of marked up bits which you think are great – as encouragement for when you’re next revising