Manuscript revision plan template

A comment such as the middle drags is not yet a task. Locate the places where scenes repeat a function or a character's objective stops changing. Then choose a response: cut a repeated beat, combine scenes, reveal information earlier or strengthen the decision that drives the next chapter.

Record the reason as well as the change. Without the reason, a later revision can accidentally undo the improvement while keeping the wording of the original instruction.

If you might remove a viewpoint, decide that before polishing its scenes. If the ending changes, check its setup before line editing the opening. A small-looking choice can affect more of the book than a long local rewrite.

Use a checkpoint rather than an arbitrary deadline: after changing chapter seven, reread chapters two and twelve to see whether the promise and payoff still connect. This makes the plan an order of tests, not an expanding list of chores.

Invented example: three scenes show Mara doubting the same witness, but none changes her next action. The diagnosis is stalled causality, not automatically too many words. The proposed revision combines two scenes and gives the remaining scene a discovery that forces a costly choice.

The check is whether the reader can name what changed between the start and end of that sequence. If not, the revision has not solved the original problem, even if the passage is shorter.

You do not have to implement every recommendation. A brief note explaining why you rejected or adapted it keeps the decision deliberate. If several readers report the same effect, consider another solution even when the proposed fix is wrong for your book.

The tool does not assess your manuscript or save your notes. It formats the decisions you enter. Download the file before leaving this page and keep it beside the dated manuscript you are revising.