I’m a plotter, so I love spreadsheets! They’re an especially good way to organize your manuscript (ms) after a messy first draft. What follows is a step by step guide to how I create a reverse outline via Excel and then use the spreadsheet as a revision plan.
Step 1: Reverse Outline
The term comes from the idea that you’re outlining after the fact. I recommend that as soon as you’ve sent your draft off to beta readers, spend some time transferring the plot of the existing ms into a new spreadsheet chapter by chapter scene by scene. Since I use the Save the Cat (STC) beats, I like to include that column and identify which STC beat each chapter is. Here’s a view-only reverse outline sample: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1qDq2xQC8MHVTFCB3zvEl68eYzXHVK0ej/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=111076423548097038784&rtpof=true&sd=true
The yellow rows indicate the most critical STC beats in my story. I have at most 4 scenes (3 section breaks) in a chapter. If you have flashbacks, that would automatically mean you have 3 scenes (1 & 3 being the frame). This ms is told in one POV, but you can add a column for POVs and shade them to keep track. It takes me a few days to transfer the story into spreadsheet form.
Step 2: Set It and Forget It
The ms is out to betas and the spreadsheet is done. Time to take a break! A week at least, a month is even better. I finished my YA draft in May and HAVE YET to touch it (6 months and counting)! It’s so important to step away from a project for a while so that when you DO return to it, you have fresh eyes and are fully motivated. REVISION IS HARD, so hitting pause and refilling your creative well is an absolute must.
Step 3: Collect Feedback
As the betas start to trickle in, transfer the big suggestions to your spreadsheet. This is made easier if you ask your betas NOT to track changes but instead write you a short book review, listing things they liked + had trouble with. (I’m going to put together a different blog post about what I ask my alphas vs. betas vs. CPs to do, so stay tuned…). I try to summarize all beta feedback in one column, noting them where revision would be necessary.
Step 4: Plan the Revision
In another column, jot down all the things you plan to revise. Consider having separate columns if there are themed revisions throughout the ms, like to character development or world building -OR- to COW (which stands for Content, Organization, and Writing – see below).
Step 5: Color-code Your Revision Plan
I use the acronym COW to categorize the kind of revision that’s necessary from scene to scene:
Content: characters & setting
Organization: plot & pacing
Writing: PUGS (Punctuation, Usage, Grammar, and Spelling)
Each COW will be shaded a different color. Most scenes will need one or two of these kinds of revision, but if they need all three, you might consider rewriting the scene or chapter entirely (see Chapter 6B or 10). Create new rows if you need to, but here is where your spreadsheet will get a little messier, as you revise the Scenes columns to spec (from your Revision Plan columns). The colors help me see what work needs to be done as I revise.
Step 6: Deep-dive Revise
I like to revise chronologically and as quickly as possible, so I’m not forgetting the plot or what I’ve changed. Sometimes, as I revise, I find that my plan isn’t going to work, or that one change will create a domino effect. When this happens, I return to my reverse outline/revision plan spreadsheet to document new changes.
Step 7: Consider a Revisions Spreadsheet
Some projects may need multiple drastic revisions, in which case, I might suggest creating a new spreadsheet that keeps track of the changes to each new draft. My PW ms underwent 3 different revisions, so here’s a sample of a revisions spreadsheet, where you’ll see a bunch of colors that I can’t remember the meaning of: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1v5BtLybcBuR_sOceG1JPmeABXN4b9Gs5/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=111076423548097038784&rtpof=true&sd=true
The biggest difference are the two columns on the right, where I described changes to each draft. Note that this ms has multiple POVs, which I also shaded different colors for reference.
There’s really not a wrong way to use a spreadsheet, but this is how my brain works and what works for me! I hope some of this helps. Feel free to reach out if you have questions – and good luck with your revision!
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