DELETE.…Well, not this article.

By S.E. Tschritter

As a new writer, I clung to my prose. Each word I typed was a nugget of gold to be cherished. So imagine the heart attack I experienced when I let a friend with a master degree in English edit my work. “Deleting is part of the process,” she told me.

I did not comprehend her words. “That’s my voice.”

“No, it’s not,” she told me.

Years later, a was hired to write a story. I finished, awed by my own prose. Pulitzer-worthy. The editor for the publishing house sent the document back with 80% track changes. It took me a long time to understand that writing words and being willing to delete them is part of the process.

“First draft is for the author.” Professionals in the publishing industry say this a lot. First goal is just to get the words onto paper. Don’t edit yourself. Just type.

Deleting is a necessary second-step.

My first draft of The Prodigal’s Son ran to almost 130,000 words. Now it’s at 91,000. And, in case those numbers don’t mean anything to you,

Old Man and the Sea— 26,000 words

Of Mice and Men—29,000 words

A Christmas Carol—28,000 words

So, essentially, for the sake of printing costs and readability, I cut a book from the book.

Here’s the bottom line. There is no point in writing a book if no one can stomach reading it. The first draft is for you, the author. You can be as messy as your little heart desires. Then you slash. You tighten. You edit, and edit again, and go at it again, editing again.

There’s a lot of book static out there. If a reader picks up your title, that is a huge success. If that same reader starts editing your work as he or she reads and places your work on the DNF (Do Not Finish) list, no es bueno. That same reader won’t ever buy a second book. Worse, they may warn other bookworm friends not to take a bite of your bad apple.

Learning to be edited is a pride-swallowing skill. I’ve been there—plenty of times. If you don’t want to be edited and you’re fine with no one reading your work, you do you. If you desire to make money writing books, then learn to listen to critique. Sit your stubborn id in the corner and let the adults finish their conversation.

Here’s an excerpt below is in The Prodigal’s Son, Clint’s exact wording from a transcription: 

Teen Challenge provided an intense, indescribable community. 

Here's what I cut: 

I learned with time that the ones who caught fire for the Lord first, just trading one addiction for another, were typically the first to fizzle out. 

Sobriety isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon, a lesson I learned much later, and in many ways, too late.

I can’t remember a single name from my time there as a student, but there was something there. People from all walks of life who’d never hang out together on the outside, joined the program on the same rocky footing.

Few people know how bad the drag of the addiction can be. Using substances traps people in a world they can’t escape from. Coming out of the high is the worst feeling in the world because the instant you wake up, your body starts begging for another hit.

Pity users. As a user, you know it’s wrong, but you can’t stop. I think alcohol is the worst addiction to break free from because it’s legal. Drinking isn’t just socially accepted, it’s socially expected. Commercials glamorize wine, beer and hard liquor. “Drink this and you’ll have a better life.”

Christians will often say that living for Christ is like swimming against the cultural tide. Christians who battle alcoholism face the double threat of the peer pressure and societal pressure to partake in the drink that will rob them blind. Staying sober, for me, meant walking around with my guard up at all times.

First of all, the interview changed the way I view addiction and changed my heart toward addicts. Statements like these granted me grace for the addict. Second of all, you know why I deleted this from the book? Why I only kept seven words from the entire section? Because what’s left over is even stronger, and when I edited out the clutter, I received the second-best compliment an author can receive:

“Couldn’t put it down.”

“Binge-read the entire thing.”

“Page-turner.”

This book is just getting started on the market and I’ve also received the greatest compliment an author can hear: “I needed to hear this. This book changed my life.”

If you want to write a book that resonates with readers long after they close the cover, then what you write (and what you DELETE) needs to be more about the reader than you. The final draft is for the reader.

Now, go. Work that “Backspace” button. This part requires courage, but I believe in you. 

Connect With S.E.

www.loveunedited.com/long-bio

www.linktr.ee/LoveSamEvans