Editing a story is slower, but as satisfying - honest. In fact it is more satisfying because at the end you will not have stomach ache and problems with your trouser buttons, but a good, well-written story.
Rewriting is the key to good writing.
Editing and revising is always necessary - no-one writes a polished story in a first draft.
I can write a first draft in 4-6 weeks, but it takes 6-12 months to revise, edit and rewrite before thinking about approaching an agent. You will continue to rewrite for the agent, and then the publisher!
What can make it easier?
Patience - put your first draft away for at least a month, come back to it with a fresh mind. If possible work on something else while you let it ferment.
Positive attitude- you'll need it, it can be soul destroying to pick over a chapter and then pass it on for someone to read. They find a mistake in the first sentence - ahhh.
Time- in chunks. Oh yeah,you need lots of time, but pace yourself. After an hour, or whatever suits your attention span, take a sort break to refresh and refocus. Leave time between edits too - a week is good. You'll have fresh eyes again.
Edit in layers- First maybe to find and replace certain words such as bit, little, nice, that etc. There is a good list in Marcy Kennedy's Busy Writer's Guides. The next layer maybe focusing on showing not telling, looking for plot problems, changing passive verbs to active ones, looking for repetition- not of a word but of an idea, the dialogue and dialogue tags , creating tighter descriptions...
Read aloud - Where you stumble, the reader will stumble. You will find sticky sentences, spelling and grammar errors, inconsistencies in characters voice etc . When we read silently our mind often corrects problems subconsciously. Reading aloud is active. I am not very good at this part, I start aloud and then lapse into silence!
Never delete - I save each edit as a separate file. You may remove huge chunks of your story, keep them somewhere, they might be used in a different way, as a memory, or in a sequel.
Be brave- you need others to read and give you feedback. Writing groups can be very useful or online writing communities like Wattpad and WriteOn.
Learn - accept peoples opinions, however negative they may feel at first glance. They are your audience, listen to them.
Be thorough - when you think you have done all you can, look at each line- do you need all the words? Can you condense? Do you need the sentence? What is it adding to the story?
Stop - at some time you will need to stop. If you eat the whole cake you will be sick and never want to eat a rainbow again!
Let go of Perfectionism -The story will never be perfect even when professionals have helped and guided you. It can be a well-written, good story. Over editing may wash away your unique voice.
Phew- I'm exhausted just thinking about the process. Need cake.
Good luck and enjoy.
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