As someone who loves editing even more than writing, this is the general edit process I go through with my writing group, Blazing Lioness.

I finish the project, let it sit for 1-2 months, then print it out in mono space font, attack it top to bottom with a pencil, looking for everything from typos, to terrible sentences, to plot holes.

Then I return to the computer and start at the beginning entering changes and also adding any new edits I think of along the way. That way, by the time that part is done, I’m basically looking at a completed third draft.

Then I print the whole thing out and hand it to my alpha reader. She demolishes it and hands it back. I go through, on paper, and adjust based on her feedback. Return to the computer and type it all in again. Draft 5.

Print it out again and hand it to my betas. They demolish it. I get it back, attack it on paper, type in. Rinse and repeat until all beta based feedback is accounted for. Draft 7 or 8 or 9…

I then compile the whole thing to a .mobi file and email it to my Kindle and go through it again, flagging anything I see that’s still wrong. Then I go back to computer and make corrections.

Recompile for .mobi and email to the Kindles of all my alpha & beta readers. They demolish as needed. I get back notes, make changes.

Let it rest for a month. Print it out and go through it again. Make any changes and type it back in.

At this point, it goes to my editor/agent/publisher, depending in the project, and the whole thing starts all over.

As a group, we are fiends for editing. Ours is not the only way, but it’s working for us.