Whenever my students are also attorneys, I can usually count on their eyes to bug out when I tell them they may need to revise many times. As one lawyer-student said, “I’m used to checking over my briefs for spelling and puncuation. Isn’t that revision?
Revision takes many forms, and spelling and puncuation are good things to check over. But don’t stop there. Look at your “big picture.” How’s the story and does it pull the reader along? Are there spots that need a transition? Places where you aren’t sure where and when you are? Remember, the “vivid and continuous dream” John Gardner spoke of can be interrupted by as small a detail as a misplaced comma, or as confusing as not knowing which character’s head we’re in.
Writing Tip for Today: Before you begin worrying about how you’ll land an agent or whether you’ll be able to write a good query letter, be sure you’ve revised as many of the big picture items and details as you can. Get others to read your manuscript. Go back and revise some more. Let it gestate (sit around) and then go back over it again. Yes, it’s a lot of work, but there are only two kinds of writing: Writing that works and writing that needs work. Revise with gladness.