The Proposed Revision Plan

While I’ve been waiting to begin editing my WIP, I’ve been busy coming up with a plan of action on how to revise, and I’ve listed the plan below:

1. Initial Read Over: I need to read through the novel, chapter by chapter, and take notes of what needs fixing. Also in this stage, I’ll fix basic formatting problems (basic stuff really, to break myself into revision).
2. Characters: First of all,  I plan to focus on the characters. In particular, the MC, Lily. I’m not sure about whether or not she could be considered plagiarized as Lara Croft. I’m wondering how it might work if she was an archaeologist. That would mean major cuts, and killing off minor characters.
3. Plot: Secondly, the plot will need changing to reflect the changes made in characters. I want to increase the length of the novel, a wordcount higher than what I want in the end, so I have words to cut. I think that if my wordcount is already lower than 80K, it’ll be harder to cut.
4. Rewrite! Now I put my changes to paper. Rewrite the MC, and kill off unneeded characters. Add to the plot. I’d ideally like to boost the wordcount towards the 90K mark – that’ll give me lots of room to cull words. Also, during the rewrites, I’ll make changes according to the notes I took during the rough draft stage (only the changes still applicable).
5. Read and Repeat: I’ll conduct a second read through, and fix any problems still remaining. I’ll repeat this step until I can’t find any more.
6. Waiting: After the rewrites, I’m going to let the story rest for a few weeks, maybe up to a month or two.
7. Beginnings: I’ve known it for a while: My beginning sucks. SUCKS. It’s unexciting, contains too much backstory, and is a poor attempt to drawing the reader in. I’ll work on it during step 3, but really concentrate on nailing it here.
8. More Waiting: I’ll leave the story to sit for a while, so I can come back with fresh eyes.
9. More Rewrites: Fix any remaining problems with regards to characters and plot.
10. Basic Spelling/Grammar Check: I want my spell checks to be done at the very end, because, the way I see it, if I check over the entire thing, then edit more, I’ll have to recheck spelling. But, I want the spelling and grammar receive a basic check before the next step.
11. Another Read Over/Give to Readers: Now, I want to send copies to Beta Readers (or whatever they’re called) for their opinions, while simultaneously conducting another read over and take notes of my own.
12. Compare Notes: After getting back notes from the readers, I’ll compare the notes with my own, and identify problem areas.Then, I’ll fix said problem areas with rewrites.

    From 8, I imagine I’ll be letting the story rest for a few weeks, then repeat 7 and 8 until done. Then… I guess I’ll be done with the major problems. Which means…

13. Prose: Going through each chapter, I’ll fix the prose, and other language related problems here (overused words, modifiers etc…)
14. Final Read Over: By now, I’m hoping everything will be complete. But, one last read over can’t hurt. Hopefully, I’ll find any remaining issues, and fix.
15. Spelling and Grammar: Go through each chapter real closely, finding any words spelt incorrectly.
16. Give out Family/Friend Copies: Let non-writers give read through, and give me their opinions. I’ll look at their feedback, and fix any problems present.

After family, friends, and the stranger off the street give me their opinions, and the problems are dealt with… I think I’ll be done!

Tell me: What are your thoughts on my revision plan? What do you think will work, and what wont work? What would you do differently?