Dalene, that’s interesting, the changeableness of blogs makes them always subject to revision and improvement. I had not thought of it that way, but it’s true.

And this is why I am a much better blogger than essayist. With blogging you can keep revising forever if you’d like. I can’t bear to read myself published because it is too tempting to grab the red pencil and have my way with the printed piece. And by then it’s just much too late…

Looking forward to reading your piece in Irreantum, Emily.

Shelah, you are an amazing reviser–so good at implementing feedback. And I have to say, in college I used to write first draft papers and do pretty well on them; I also looked down on doing too many drafts. But a paper is different from an essay or another type of creative writing. You don’t need to add layers of meaning and depth in the same way.

Annette, yes! Drafting is short, rewriting long.

Jacob, ha!

Julie R., that is so interesting about your juniors; I think that’s a common response when we’re first edited. Our contest winning essays are published as-is, without significant revision (this is why you’ve got to make them good!!). But everything else at Segullah goes through several drafts. That has been a bit surprising for some of our authors, who may have thought that since we were publishing their piece, it did not need a lot of work. This is not true–even the most polished writing we receive still gets picked and poked at and tweaked by our editorial board. We want our publication to be really good! But our authors do get the hang of things; I love watching their essays evolve as each draft gets posted and gets better and better.

Having worked on Segullah for a while, and participated in the editing process, I can say that I am to the point where, if someone actually takes the time to really think about something I’ve written, and make extensive comments to help me (the way you did with your students, Julie) I am just so grateful for their time. Part of me still cringes, but mostly I am grateful they saved me and helped me improve my writing.

But it takes trust: you have to trust your editor’s vision, and trust the revising process. Trust that you can let go of the draft you’ve sweated over, and that the new version will be even better than the one you fell in love with.

jendoop, I know the feeling. Sometimes time away from an essay helps me with that. Then when I come back to it, I can see it more clearly.

Sharlee, I love those quotes. Wouldn’t you love to see all the versions of a Toni Morrison book?

Thanks everyone! And if anyone would like to share things that help them as they revise, I’m all ears.

Here are a couple of my favorite quotes on revising:

“There’s no such thing as good writing; there’s only good rewriting.” –Juanita Brooks

“I rewrite a lot, over and over again, so that it looks like I never did. I try to make it look like I never touched it, and that takes a lot of time and a lot of sweat.” –Toni Morrison

“Push yourself beyond when you think you are done with what you have to say. Go a little further. Sometimes when you think you are done, it is just of the edge of beginning.” –Natalie Goldberg

This trait, more than any other, is what separates so-so writers from really good writers–the willingness to revise.