Editing Tricks: Working Backwards Means Forward Momentum

This picture is from my third-round edits, another time recently when I used a technique I hadn’t before. I had the manuscript with my editor’s comments bound and printed a second copy to work from longhand.

I’ve often heard of authors working backward during edits as a way to find errors they might not otherwise, but I’d never tried it until last week. In preparation for First Pages Pages (the first time I’ll see Jasper and the Riddle of Riley’s Mine looking like an actual book and the last time I’ll be able to make changes to the manuscript), I started with the last chapter and moved toward the first.

I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I’ve found working this way means I’m not caught up in the momentum of the story (and am therefore able to notice small details I might not otherwise). I’m also able to see each chapter as it stands alone, which reveals what’s working and what isn’t. I can’t rely on what I think has already happened (though I can go back to verify).

This is a technique I’ll use again.

Any tips or tricks you use while editing?