When you feel the text is just right. Yes, but how do you know that? Is it not possible to spoil a perfectly good text by editing too much? Can we really judge our own works fairly?
When you feel the text is just right. Yes, but how do you know that? Is it not possible to spoil a perfectly good text by editing too much? Can we really judge our own works fairly?
I normally stop editing at the earliest possible opportunity given that I'm no great fan of the process. That being said, in the interests of creating a good manuscript, I usually stop when I find I'm merely removing and replacing the same commas over and over again and I have no more nagging doubts left to trouble-shoot.
I'm with those who edit and edit and edit could change a piece of work years after publication.
But David's right, too - the worry with over-editing is you tear the heart out: the very thing that made you pick up a pen in the first place.
So you have to stop somewhere, and up to now I've finished at the point I've begun to get sick of story and characters. Can't afford the latter when writing a series :)
I always say cut, but not too much, because then you'd end up with a blank page and who would want that? Cut until it feels right and then it's no longer your decision to make. Get someone to read your story (preferably more than one, though quality in beta readers is far better than quantity) and take their input to heart. Maybe also get a professional?
You can ruin a story by editing so if YOU feel that it's just right, don't cut anymore