How to Trim a Manuscript That’s Too Long
Gone are the Charles Dickens days when writers got paid by the word for publishing their serialized story in newspapers. Today, written content is abundant and affordable, and few readers want a book that’s twice as long as necessary. (See last week’s post for ideal manuscript length.)
So what if your memoir or novel has 150,000 words, or your business book reaches 100,000? In almost every situation, books don’t need to exceed the genre-specified guidelines by more than around 5,000 to 10,000 words.
Less is often more.
This adage is especially true for first-time authors who want to sell books—yielding positive reviews and recommendations.
But how do you get less, when you’ve already written more?
Trimming is often the hardest part of writing—which builds a case for a solid outline up front to organize your ideas and prevent “rambling” too far off track. Still, every book goes through a process where some material is left on the cutting-room floor. If your manuscript needs to be trimmed based on your publisher’s or industry-standard guidelines, read on for strategic carving tips.
Ask yourself these two questions when considering what to cut:
Does this content help to move the story or content forward? This is like asking, “Does this belong?” Think of a bedroom where a bunch of clutter builds up—maybe some water glasses, a laptop you carried in one night, piles of clothes you no longer wear, and a stack of books in various stages of having been read; what doesn’t need to be there?
In a memoir or fiction, think whether a particular scene (or paragraph, sentence, or even word) helps to inform the overall story arc or establish context around a character (including their motivation and personality).
In a business or non-fiction book, decide if this content is important to your overall premise or model—and whether you’ve already explained it. Some repetition is okay, but too much can make readers lose trust in your writing skills and abandon your book.
2. Does this content help to engage the reader? Some writing might not move the story or concept forward, but it adds dramatic tension, makes a character 3D, illustrates a point with a clear example, or otherwise entices a reader to turn pages. It’s acceptable and advisable to leave some content for entertainment or enjoyment purposes, even in non-fiction. Consider the difference between watching a YouTube lecture on World War II, versus viewing “Saving Private Ryan.” Both might teach you something, but people are only lining up to buy tickets to something they desire to see. This is where you get to be an “artist” in your writing, not only informing the reader but exciting them—with your imagery or dialogue, for example.
Once those questions are addressed, these quick tips will help you further trim:
Cut repetitive words and content. Hit “control f” to search for a word you use often, and find ways to trim or swap out words.
Streamline/reorder sentences. See our previous post for specific tips to streamline (and improve) your writing, which will help with this.
Use contractions. Do not can become don’t, which saves you a word. This seems small, but it adds up. Except for in academia or when writing an emphatic statement, who says “I do not” instead of “I don’t” in normal conversation?
Look for multiple adjectives or adverbs in lists. I often see multiple descriptors that mean almost the same thing; this is a great place to trim. For example, “The compassionate, kind, and thoughtful doctor...” Compassionate already implies kind and thoughtful, so you could easily cut the latter two. See our previous post about superlatives and descriptors.
Ask yourself, Is this needed? with each paragraph, sentence, and word. An editor does this, especially for short-form articles that must adhere to a strict word-count limit, and you can begin training yourself to do it as well.
Use beta readers, and ask if any parts bog down when they’re reading. These readers don’t replace an editor, but their general feedback can sharpen your manuscript.
Don’t obsess about this list as you’re writing, by the way. That might prevent you from moving forward. Do your shaving work after writing your draft, and after answering the bigger questions—numbers 1 and 2 in this post. Then, when you feel like you’ve taken it as far as you can without losing sleep or pulling out your hair, hand it to your editor.
What tips would you add? Let us know.
Do you need help with this process? Just reach out.
Happy writing!
