Learning how to edit your novel is not an enticing prospect, but one that is necessary if you are to take the next step in your career. You can, of course, hand your completed manuscript to an editor, and that is always the best option as a final step. However, there are some adjustments that you, as the writer, can make.

Editing isn't solely concerned with fixing spelling and grammatical errors; it is the process of turning a jumbled plot into the story you wanted to create, and unless the editor can read your mind regarding your vision for the book, only you can do this.

So, where do you begin the editing process? Firstly, you need to be clear about what your editing goal is. You may write the most eloquent sentences that compare to a literary piece of art, but if they do not make sense, the reader is not going to stick around past the first chapter. So, your priority should always be to make your book clear, concise and simple for the reader to understand. You generally need to begin with the story, characters, and flow of the story and then work your way down to the smaller details such as grammar later. 

You need to imagine your manuscript is like sculpting. You begin with a rough piece of wood, then slowly you shape it into a piece of art. Sometimes, trying to edit a book in its entirety can be quite daunting, but if you break it up into manageable chunks, the whole process becomes much easier to focus on. A simple way to do this, if you use the three-act structure, is to focus on each act separately. However, if you are going to do this, please ensure the flow of the story is not lost and becomes disjointed. Remember to keep in mind that when the three acts are brought back together, the story still glides effortlessly through the three acts. 

Your next step should be figuring out what your story is about. What is the message you want to convey? I know this sounds like common sense, but oftentimes, the message is lost in the quagmire of sub-plots and dramatic highlights. This is where your editing skills need to be brutal as you begin to trim off the unnecessary scenes that do not help your story along. You need your sub-plots to be just that, and your main plot easy for the reader to define. You also need to decide what scenes and characters are vital to the story and which are just window dressing. I always tend to write a synopsis of between 500-1000 words, but not just one. I tend to write the synopsis from different perspectives. Doing this will make it clear what information is needed and what information is not. It will also give you an idea of where the weak points are in the story and the areas where more work is needed. 

Now we come to the characters in your story. All the major characters should have been mentioned in your synopsis. If they haven't made the synopsis, you need to ask yourself why. Do they even serve any purpose in moving the plot forward? If you really like the character and do not want to edit them out of the story entirely, then you either need to give them a purpose or minimize their role in the story. Ensure that every character arc is completed by the final chapter. If they are not and there are loose ends not resolved, it means your character development is weak and needs some work.

So, you have decided on the message you want to convey, written your synopsis from different perspectives and tweaked your characters so everyone has a role. Now it is time to edit all your chapters. Each chapter, like your characters, needs to have a role and a purpose. To make it easier, you can ask yourself the following questions as you begin your edit. 

What is the purpose or message in the chapter? 
Does it move the plot forward?
Does the role of a character develop in the chapter?
If you were to omit the chapter entirely would the story suffer?

If you need to condense a few chapters into one then do it. This whole process gets you into the habit of distancing yourself from your story and seeing it from a more objective point of view. Like everything else with writing, practice makes perfect. Take your time, break everything down into manageable chunks and before you know it, you will be editing like a pro.