Beautiful Books Linkup #3: Let's Talk Editing

This is the third post for the Beautiful Books Linkup series by Paper Fury. You can find the explanation of it all here. This is the last post of three - the first was on planning a novel, the second about writing a novel, and the third about editing.
So! Onwards to the questions!

1. On a scale of 1 (worst) to 10 (best) how well do you think this book turned out?
Eh. Certainly not ten. Maybe a five? I don't think I really need to change anything already written - I just need to add a LOT of stuff. Like a whole other point of view and several more scenes from the first point of view, which is all going to require just as much planning as I've already done. *sigh*

2. Have you ever rewritten or edited one of your books before? If so, what do you do to prepare yourself? If not, what's your plan?
I've never finished rewrites or edits before, but I've started both for last year's NaNoWriMo project (progress was stalled because of this year's NaNoWriMo). I didn't really do anything to prepare myself other than let myself take a break so that I'm not still emotionally invested in the project once I start hacking it to pieces. That's the plan I'm sticking to - right now I'm on a writing break.

3. What's your final wordcount? Do you plan to lengthen or trim your book?
53,453 words. I was aiming for 54,000, but the book finished before I reached that. What I wrote is really fast paced - there is nothing extraneous at all and I probably didn't take enough time to write the descriptions I should have. So I don't think I need to trim anything; however, I definitely need to add stuff. A few more scenes to enhance the tone of the book and to develop characters, and an entire new point of view in addition to the one I already have. It's going to be like writing a whole other book, then splicing it with the one I've just written. Ugh.

4. What are you most proud of? Plot, characters, or pacing?
As I said, I feel like my pacing is rushed, so that isn't what I'm proud of. Plot I like, but I don't think it's absolutely genius. I like my characters but there are things about them that could be better. What I really like about Shadows & Light is the world. It's basically real world + magic + Destiny, but that mix makes it so much different, and I love it. It's both incredibly relatable and completely foreign.

5. What is your favorite bit of prose or line from this novel?
I was reading through the beginning and found this line. Ace wouldn’t dare try cooking for himself. They’d end up calling the fire department.

6. What aspect of your book needs the most work?
Pacing, namely adding some slower pacing. Also, I have a dog which mysteriously disappeared and then reappeared in the second half of the book. He needs to come back. And as I said, I need to add an entire point of view. Descriptions, also, are going to need quite a lot of refinement, namely because they're barely there to begin with. 

7. What aspect of your book is your favorite?
The networks of relationships between all the characters, and between characters and their Destinies. 

8. How are your characters? Well-rounded, or do they still need to be fleshed out? 
They're pretty good, I think. Ace is going to need some more work since I'm going to have to write from his perspective - and I suppose I'll have to work on his gang of friends some more. But yeah, I think the characters I've got are pretty good.

9. If you had to do it over again, what would you change about your whole process?
Nothing. My process worked fine. :D

10. Did anything happen in your book that completely surprised you? Have any scenes or characters turned out differently than you planned?
Well a dog named Lancelot mysteriously vanished, which was unplanned. And I had a surprise scene come up which was adorable *fangirls over the cuteness of Gabriel and Mara, even though they're not dating*. 

11. What was the theme and message? Do you think it came across? If not, is there anything you could do to bring it out?
The message was supposed to be that we all have to be responsible for out actions. And no, I don't think it came across as well as I would have liked. :\ This is why I'm adding the other point of view. Mara's is too limited. It doesn't show enough so that the reader can clearly see just how bad she's gone. I'm adding Ace's point of view to contrast Mara's descent into evil with Ace's maturing into a hero.

12. Do you like writing with a deadline (like NaNoWriMo) or do you prefer to write as it comes?
Deadline. Definitely. Without one, I don't get anything done because I don't have anything to aim for.

13. Comparative title time! What published books, movies, or tv shows are like your book? (Ex: Inkheart meets X-men, etc.)
*wince* I don't really know. It's a little bit like the book V is for Villain, with a little Harry Potter substituted for the superpowers and government. That's the best I can think of on the spot.

14. How do you celebrate a finished novel?
I haven't really celebrated. I've allowed myself to stop writing for a while until such a time as I want to start editing (that could take a while). 

15. When people are done reading your book, what feeling do you want them to come away with?
Bittersweet, I think, is how I want them to feel. Maybe just a bit excited for a sequel, too. ;)