Editing Tips for Overwriters | When Your Book Is Too Long

Are your book drafts really long? Do you know you're an overwriter? Looking for tips on how to trim down your book? I'm sharing my insights and best tips! I, too, am usually an overwriter. I've got you.

RELATED VIDEOS

00:00 Introduction
02:57 Cut repetition
07:05 Setup filler
11:05 Transposing inert scenes
12:30 Line level trimming
15:37 Too many characters/subplots
19:36 Tracking scene function
22:53 Get a CP to tell you what's boring

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Camera: Canon t6i
Mic: Rode VideoMic Go Light
Lighting: Limo Studio Soft Kit
Editing Software: Pinnacle Studio 22

[tappkalina]

I'll be here waiting patiently for the underwriter one.

[sailor.britters]

I'm an underwriter, but I aspire to be an overwriter so much. It's a lot easier to me to cut and trim than it is to have to go back and add details and scenes. I can't wait for the underwriter tips!

[toriwisdom]

I have an easier time losing lines if I copy/paste them into a separate doc named 'Darlings.' They're not lost, they can make their comeback in another work! Or just stay in my heart lol. Either way: hurts less.

[mattie]

this hurts me not as a writer but as a reader cause i honestly love scenes that exist just to have fun with interesting characters or have friends throwing jokes at each other or long passages that are there just because they are beautiful... when i write i do end up cutting most of this stuff but when i am reading certain books or fanfics i actually enjoy filler, especially if i really vibe with the author's style and/or love the characters a whole lot

[katelynharrison]

Ugh for me it’s balcony scenes🤦🏻‍♀️ I want everyone important conversation to happen at sunset on a balcony.

[CAZ]

Oh God, over 100k is too long?!? I'm already over 150k and not done...😌. Definitely gonna need this video after I've finished the first draft. Thank you so much for these tips!

[ericaallisonc]

I absolutely loooove hearing your input Alexa, I always feel weird when people mention word count, I hate short books and if it's less than 320 pages I usually won't give it much thought. Maybe that's my problem. Many of my favorites are between 420-600 pages (even if they are just mass-market paperbacks, it still tricks my brain into thinking it's getting more bang for my buck). This love for long stories and hefty books has most definitely crossed over into my own style of writing and how I envision the final product.


In my first book's draft, I made it 98k words. At the time I thought it was a decent draft, but then I realized no one would give it a second glance with my genre choice, so I removed large chunks of the book that I deemed "unimportant to story progression".Yeah, it was now fit for publishing house standards... but I HATED IT. I started to despise what I was making... so I kept maybe all of 30k words, from the original...and rewrote the entire thing. Long story short, throughout that adventure and heartbreak, I learned so much about myself as a writer, what I was good at, what I am bad at, what I enjoyed, and what I can improve. There is a long road ahead of me, but I'm so proud of what I've accomplished since 2018 (I do everything myself, : art, drafting, formatting. My Graphic Design degree has given me tools to make this adventure much more economical, the only downside is its time consuming because it's all on me). I've decided to go the self-publishing route because for me it's a labor of passion and love, not something I plan on making money doing. I want my final product to be something I'm proud of, not something I'm told to do because of trends.

[carolyntaraoneil]

Yayy for this! Chronic overwriter here. I'll trim 30k+ from my first drafts, alack. I once underwrote a novel, and had nothing more to add. That was my "the story is what the story is" moment. But I'm the queen of cutting text!! Because yes, I'm also the queen of repetition - my characters will feel the same emotion three times in a row, lol. PS I love dinner scenes too!!

[biologyboggs]

Me: Oh I'm not an overwriter at all, but I'll enjoy Alexa's content as always.
Me, twenty minutes later: OHH, maybe I AM an overwriter in different ways. mmmm.
As always, great lessons!

[jessip]

My first YA contemporary: 112k words. My beta readers: Why u do this to us? 😢

Learned my lesson. Current project is a tight 75k.

[jamesedward]

Fourth! I am a huge fan! I have all of your books and I can't wait for the ivies! You are such an inspiration and I love the advice you give!

[tabithadeskins]

Thank you so much for this! I'm an overwriter and I'm starting to get into the nitty gritty of revising where I need to polish off some of my word count! Thank you so much for this, Alexa!

[aacoolio]

Can’t wait for underwriting tips Alexa!

[jonnyjonneth]

Some of this stuff that you end up cutting can be tidied up and used for bonus content for mailing list sign-ups. Characters that get cut, may fit better in a different project. So don't just press delete, save these gems as they may come in useful at a later date.

[Ace_]

I’m writing a draft for the first book in a four part sci-fi series and it’s currently 258, 234 words…I’m definitely an over writer so this really helped me out a lot! Tysm!

[di]

I’m so guilty. Those damn subplots lol. Love your videos :)

[retiefgregorovich]

I was worried when writing my first novel that it would be too short. It ended up over 200K words. I've managed to cut it down to 130K, maybe.

[AlyssaMatesic]

Yes! Whenever I'm editing a novel, setup filler is one of the most common issues I run into. Thanks for the video!

[authoressmonicalsmith]

I just read a book and got lost because there were many characters. Its making it hard for me to finish the book because there is too much going on.

[JJ]

A tip that I find always works for me. If I feel bored editing a certain scene and I can’t wait to get through, it probably could be cut or repurposed elsewhere. I find that the scenes that hit the right way tend to be more enjoyable to work on.