How to Revise a Novel

I found this great info on how to edit your book in four steps here. The just of the article states that we can do our revising by:

1. The Close-In Writing: Write a day's worth of work. Next day, before writing anything new, revise and edit the previous day.

2. The Close-In Edit: Finish draft 1. Read and revise from beginning. This gives you draft 2.

3. The Distance (or “Hand”) Edit: Print and hand write your edits. Afterward, fix it all on computer to get draft 3.

4. The Oral Edit: Print and read entire 3rd draft aloud, making notes

Ok, that's all fine and dandy. Now what things should you look for when revising:

NITPICKY STUFF (check out this NaNoWriMo article)

• Omit all unnecessary words.
• Sacrifice modifiers.
• Consider the rhythm.
• Replace "to be" and "to have." (the dreaded was, were, had etc.)
• Simplify tenses.
• Spill your parenthetical (wait, we can't have thoughts in parenthesis?)
• Avoid alliteration.
• Rethink abstraction.
• Use figurative language sparingly.
• Engage all senses.
• Cut the last sentence.
• 
  

OVERALL EDITING

(Taken from "How to Revise a Novel" by Holly Lisle)

1. Does this character appear all the way through the book, or disappear with an explanation? (Death, travel, etc.) If not, does this character have a place in this book?

2. Does this character still look and act the way he did at the beginning of the book? 

3. If this scene introduces a new idea or new action, is it something that I remembered to follow through all the way to the end? 

4. Have you met the objectives of your story? 

5. Have you followed your header, chapter, and quote scheme consistently?

7. Does this scene matter?