I recently finished writing a novel. Don’t congratulate me just yet. There’s a lot of work still to be done. I can’t shake this feeling the book isn’t working yet… and that’s because it isn’t. So what do I do? Well, it turns out the internet is lousy with advice about this exact subject. Take this episode of Bookfox, for example.

Here, esteemed editor John Fox breaks down the fixes into 9 steps. So far so good. Over the course of ONE WEEK! One week, folks. Your novel is fixed in one week. That seems crazy even for someone who has nothing else to do in a week. That said, I am going to give this a try. Because the steps look valid.

The Plot Check
Grill Your Main Character (steps 1 and 2 are supposed to be done on the same day!)
Implement the Scene Audit (Delete scenes)
The Timeline Test (This gets its own day? Why? …but I am gonna need longer.)
Chapter Transitions
Pacing Check (Same day as above!)
Dialogue Interrogation
The Secondary Character Audit (cut characters)
The Climax Stress Test

I like the idea of taking a pass and looking at just one thing at a time, but if you’re anything like me, it’s going to take a solid week to finish one read-through, with everything else you got going on. I get it, though — the title is attention-grabbing. But what do you think? Can this be done in a week?