“The End.”

There’s an amazing high that comes from writing those words on your very first novel. Yet it can often be disheartening when you read back over your first, rough drafts and realise they’re nowhere near the quality of your favourite author.

The truth is, between the first complete draft of a story and a finished book are many other drafts. Anything and everything good you’ve ever read — whether traditionally or independently published — has gone through an entire editing process. From the author’s first, raw words to the final copy that ends up in your hands, every round of writing, re-writing, and revision adds something to the final product.

But just how many drafts of a novel can you expect to go through?

From working with a number of authors and being a writer myself, I can tell you that the number of drafts varies greatly depending on both the project and your personal writing process — but there’ll be anywhere from three major drafts to a number in the double digits. I know that my first novel — not counting the small, in-between passes of each editing stage — ended up going through a whopping 12 major rewrites before I published it.

Suffice to say, the editing process is an intensive but vital stage in shaping your novel to reach its full potential. So let’s take a look at the many drafts of your debut novel, and see how the editing and publishing processes work together.

Draft 1: The Rough Draft

We all start out in the same place, with a blank page and a deep well of ideas. Depending on your process, you might do a lot of the work of writing a rough draft through an intensive outlining stage, much as Brandon Sanderson or Tess Sharpe do when they’re constructing their books. Or, perhaps more like me, you might find the best way to discover your story is by simply going ahead and freewriting it — a process that George R. R. Martin refers to as “gardening”. Either way the importance of a rough draft or intensely detailed drafting outline can’t be overstated.

This is where you’ll discover and set the major bones of your story — deciding or discovering your story spine, planting or uncovering your characters’ motivations and needs, plotting or stumbling upon the major narrative beats. However you do it, a rough draft or drafting outline is the roadmap that you follow to take you to your First Draft.

Draft 2: The “First” Draft

Depending on how you work, this may actually be anywhere from two to five drafts. But at the end of writing your first draft, you’ll have something that is almost, but not quite entirely, book-shaped: a manuscript that reads non-stop from the very first line to “The End”. But because the first draft has only really been seen by you and maybe a few trusted Alpha Readers, you need external eyes on it to make sure that all that wonderful stuff in your head has translated the way you meant it onto the page.

If you’re aiming to be traditionally published, this draft may already be very close to your Query Draft, though it’s still recommended you get at either a Beta Reader (or two) or a manuscript assessment by a professional editor to feedback any big changes that might be needed before you query. Proceed to the Draft Three.

Even if you’re planning to self-publish, however, you can’t just slap a cover on it and upload it to the kindle store quite yet. You still need an outside perspective on your words to make sure they’re communicating what you intend. This is where a freelance developmental editor becomes a super-important part of the process. If you’re following this route, it’s time for a Structural Edit — Proceed to Draft Five.

Draft 3: Your Query Draft

If you’re hoping to get traditionally published by one of the Big 4, a mid-sized indie, or even some boutique small presses, it’s in your best interest to find an agent to be your advocate when negotiating book deals, royalties, and advances. The benefits of a good agent cannot be overstated. But in order to land an agent, you need a draft that’s going to get you attention. And that’s where the Query Draft comes in.

This is basically a polished version of your First Draft, and it should be as good as you can get it, paying special attention to your narrative voice, your pitch, and your opening pages. The purpose of your Query Draft isn’t to be perfect; it’s to hook an agent. This is also a great place to really sit down and think about your querying strategy. The querying trenches can be tough — but hopefully at the end of it, you end up with a fantastic agent, who’s ready to help you with your next draft.

Draft 4: Your Submissions Draft

Because it doesn’t end there. Once you sign your agent, they’ll probably have some suggestions for you. And — you guessed it — that means at least one more draft. This is the manuscript that your agent will send out to editors on your behalf with a killer submission letter and lots of enthusiasm. It only takes one editor (and their team) to say yes to your book, and then you’ll have a book deal! So that makes this the last draft, doesn’t it?

Not quite. After all, there’s a reason that editors at publishing houses are called editors — and usually it’s because they’ve got a few edits they want you to do! So congratulations on your book deal — let’s move on to Draft Five.

Draft 5: The Structural Re-Draft

If you’ve gotten this far, then your book is ready to be published — you’ve either got a book deal or you know you’re going to self-publish within the next few months. You’ve done everything you can to make your book the best it can be, and now it’s time to get some dedicated professional input. The structural edit involves any big-picture changes that need to be made to shape your story into the best version of itself — we’re talking deepening character development, plugging any missed plot holes, and sometimes even revamping the entire ending.

If you’ve been signed by an agent and have gotten a deal with a publisher, your acquisitions editor or one of their team will usually sit down with you to talk about any changes they’d like you to make before the book is published. They’ll send you an edit letter and perhaps some manuscript mark-up, with a deadline for you to get your shiny new draft back to them.

However, if you’re going the self-publishing route, this is the point when you’ll want to hire a skilled freelance developmental editor to sit down with your entire manuscript. While your own writing instincts and dedicated beta readers have been your first line of defence, you’ll need fresh eyes and keen editorial expertise to make sure your book is the best it can be. But we’re still not done, because now that your story’s hitting all the right beats, it’s time to make every line count. Proceed to Draft Six.

Draft 6: The Line Edit

Now we’re getting into the detailed work. Once your publisher has signed off on your structural edits or you’ve actioned your developmental editor’s feedback, it’s time to get a line editor on board. A line editor is there to make sure every sentence packs a punch and that every word is pulling its weight. They’ll mark your draft up line by line, alerting you to any weird shifts in tone, jokes that don’t land quite right, and places where you need just one more word to make your reader cry. If you’re being traditionally published, this will be handled by your publisher’s editorial team. If you’re self-publishing, though, hiring a skilled line editor can make the difference between a fun, forgettable read and one that haunts readers until they can get their hands on the sequel.

We’re almost there, folks. Just a couple more drafts to go! Proceed to Draft Seven.

Draft 7: The Final Layout

Okay, maybe it’s a bit cheeky to call this a draft, but before your book can be printed or uploaded to an ebook store, it needs to be properly formatted. A traditional publisher will have a stable of copy-editors and designers to lay out your book and design your cover, but this is one place where you shouldn’t go cheap if you self-publish. Your cover and page layout are make or break for readers and fans, so make sure you hire a professional.

Once the layout’s done, you’ll get physical and digital copies to go over. We’re in the last stretch — proceed to Draft Eight.

Draft 8: The Proof

This is the first time you’ll hold an (almost) finished copy of your book in your hands. There are actually several different kinds of proofs in the industry, including promotional proofs, digital proofs, and the proofs that actually get marked up and edited. Because yes, there is one more, final edit that needs to be done before your book is published, and that’s the proofread. Nothing turns a reader off quicker than a dozen misspellings on the first page, and your proofreader is the one who ensures that abandoned book doesn’t belong to you.

A proofreader will usually send you their corrections for your approval. Once you’ve signed off on them and the designer has actioned them in the actual layout, you’re on to your FINAL DRAFT.

The Final Draft: The Reader Copy, aka Your Published Debut Novel

Which brings us to your final draft — an actual, real-life published book! Hold it in your hands. Smell the pages. Notice how it sings; it only took a few drafts, a little bit of sweat, and probably more than a few tears to get here.

So next time you pick up a book at your local shop, or download a new novel to your ereader, take a moment to appreciate the amount of work and the sheer number of drafts that have gone into the story you hold in your hands. And if you’re writing your own, remember that though the journey may be long, you never have to go it alone.

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Publish With Confidence

Happy Writing!