Even great writers revise, so surgery signals no weakness. Writing includes revising, for no writer is so expert that he always writes a perfect first draft. If your manuscript needs major surgery, that does not signal weakness or defeat. The best writers have to revise. Revising is part of writing.
Few writers are so expert that they can produce what they are after on the first try.
Quite often the writer will discover, on examining the completed work, that there are serious flaws in the arrangement of the material, calling for transpositions. When this is the case, he can save himself much labor and time by using scissors on his manuscript, cutting it to pieces and fitting the pieces together. Remember, it is no sign of weakness or defeat that your manuscript ends up in need of major surgery. This is a common occurrence in all writing, and among the best writers. Making large and small changes in a piece of prose is included in the process of producing a written document.