Draft #53482

It feels like I'm on a really high number of draft based on how often I edit my WIP, but I'm counting it as the "official" third version. 

I was really dreading this round of edits because I knew it was going to require a lot of work to get my story back to my original vision. I had been side tracked by some criticism I received and had completely changed the trajectory by giving my antagonist a redemption story. This didn't work at all for the character or the plot, and I realized I could easily have resolved the criticism by bringing a different character into the story sooner. 

I've finished roughly nine chapters of edits and still have six to go, but now that I'm in the groove of editing, I'm actually enjoying it. I've learned a lot over the last year, particularly from my MFA program, but also from the various Facebook groups I've joined. I sent the first 2500 words of the novel to a few beta readers recently, in preparation for submitting my #CarinaPitch package, and it was really helpful to get their feedback.

One reader pointed out I use the word "that" unnecessarily. Many of the sentences where it's used would make sense without it. Yesterday, I went through and deleted all instances of the word where it made sense to do so and I cut about 200 words from my MS. With six more chapters to go, I imagine that number will at least double. I think after this latest round of edits, I'll be searching for beta readers to read the whole thing. I only have one more chapter to submit through my MFA, but as I've said before, my professors aren't well versed in the romance genre, and some of their criticisms feel out of place to me. It would be nice to hear from romance readers, since they are my target audience. For instance, my last professor didn't like that my male romantic lead spent so much time processing prior scenes. She said that both of my lead characters' thinking felt "obsessive." However, in every romance book I've ever read that has dual POVs, the leads spend a lot of time processing/thinking about the progression of the relationship and the other character. Her point was that most men wouldn't spend that much time thinking about a relationship, but I think that's part of the fantasy for women who read romance? Romance readers, feel free to weigh in!

I'm hoping to finish this latest round of edits by this weekend as I signed on to beta read for someone else. It's amazing how much beta reading is teaching me about writing. While I think it's great to read published novels in the genre, there's something about the less polished drafts that really helps me to understand where my writing compares to my peers. 

What draft are you on, fellow writers? Do you keep separate "official" drafts or do you make edits within the same document?