Tag Archives: editing

Redirecting my focus

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I just wrote and posted my last book review. They have been an experience to do, but now I feel that the time is right to move away from that and start to focus more on my own writing. I don’t plan to drop it all together, but I have no immediate plans to continue doing so as I have been, taking  requests and scheduling them out months in advance. For now, I’ll only review a book if I want to. Simple as that.

As for my WIP, I’m not as far along as I would like to be. I’ve spent the whole past week feeling rather crappy. Turns out the cold I had was really strep throat, and I’m having a heck of a time getting over it, even with the antibiotics. At least I’m seeing the light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. I can breath again and hopefully I’ll have my voice back to normal in the next couple of days.

So for now, I’m keeping my goal of being done with my rewrites by the end of the month, though I’m starting to feel that’s overly-optimistic, especially considering the week I’ve spent moaning in bed, refusing to do any significant work. Forget that. I want to be done and get someone working on proofreading my book. I really want to have this out this year.

The joys of outlining

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That has to be one of my most sarcastic titles I’ve ever written. The joys of outlining…excuse me while I weep silently into my pillow. *Muzak version of Pharrell Williams Happy plays in the background while writer wails miserably into a pillow* Sorry. I don’t know what came over me. I’m a little tired right now. Maybe I’m still emotional after Seattle’s Super Bowl loss on Sunday. Back to the reason I’m writing today….

I’m working on outlining my book, hoping to get a visual of my story main points and how it fits together so I can rip it apart and put it back together. I’m deconstructing the book scene by scene, highlighting the main points in each. It’s been slowing going so far. I’m only on chapter two, but I also didn’t do a thing yesterday. I’m off from work today, so I play to catch up and get as much done as I possibly can.

I’ve never worked with an outline before. I confess this to my friend who wrote back in astonishment that I could have gotten through college without learning how. In fact I did learn how, but it’s not a practice I’ve kept up with. I always felt that it constrained my writing so I didn’t bother to remember. It’s coming back to me, and I still hate it! But as I put the outline together, I’m grudgingly having to admit that it may be a useful skill to have.

Though I am far from done, I’m convinced this exercise will help me make a better umpteenth draft. There is one scene in particular that bothers me, but not so much that it’s there but rather because of the person to whom the story is being told. I’m hoping to find a better place for it and maybe this process will help me locate it. The other option is to cut it out, which I’m not entirely adverse to, but I believe the back story the scene shows is important. We’ll see how it goes.

If this works, I will apply this process to another book I’ve already written but needs a lot of work. Maybe this is the tool I’ve been needing in order to progress to the next step in my desire to become a published writer. Only time will tell, as the saying goes, but there’s another saying that may be more appropriate. “Get off your fat ass and get to work!”

I think we can all agree those are truly words of wisdom. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have an ass that needs getting off of, but ironically I’ll have to sit on it to get this particular work done.

Window shopping for an editor

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Thanks to everyone who responded to my last post! It’s nice to know I have friends who I can count on to give me advice. This has been a learning process, and there is a lot to learn. Come to find out that I’m really ignorant about what’s involved to get something published. It’s ironic how the more you learn, the more you come to realize that you really don’t know anything. The best that can be said is that I do enjoy learning about new things. I love knowledge.

At least now I have a clearer picture of what I want, what I need, and what I should look for in an editor. What I’m looking for is someone to proofread for me, to catch my spelling and grammatical errors. I’m always finding more, but I know I’m missing most of them. I need a fresh set of eyes, preferably eyes that are attached to a well-trained mind!

I would also love to hire someone to do some content editing for me. It may be a luxury I can’t afford, but I have questions that need to be answered. Is my story coherent? Are there any continuity errors? Where are my weaknesses and what parts should be pruned in order to strengthen the rest of the book?

Part of the problem I’m having is strictly financial. I can’t afford an experienced editor, and it’s an all too common problem, especially for those of us who are getting started. The risk of going cheap, however, is that you find someone out to make a quick buck, who has no understanding of spelling and grammar that they do a lousy job. It would be a waste of money that I can ill-afford to spend!

I have been sent a few resources to peruse. A few friends have also volunteered to lend a hand, which is probably the way I’ll go. I’ll have to be creative, lean on the expertise of those who have been in my position, and accept all the help I can get. Of course, I don’t expect something for nothing. I believe people’s time and skills should be adequately compensated. It’s finding the fair price I can afford which will be the challenge.

Then there’s the issue of finding someone to design a cover, but I’ll worry about that when the time comes.

Looking for an editor

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There’s a book needing work. I’m waiting to hear back from my beta readers but that hasn’t stopped me from going though the manuscript, looking for typos to correct, odd phrases to rewrite, and searching for lines that need to be cut. I have a lot that needs to be trimmed away.

I’m also looking for an editor, which scares me because I have no clue what to look for. Anyone can call themselves an editor, but not anyone can do it. I know I couldn’t! I don’t have the skill set to read and edit a book for someone. I miss typos and grammatical mistakes all the time. No it’s best that I begin to look for someone else to do it, but who?

I’m doing some research, looking for freelance editors. I’m also researching what I could expect to pay. Yikes! I don’t have that kind of money. Low end is around three-hundred dollars all the way up to several thousand dollars. That’s crazy, but it also makes me wish I had that particular set of skills. Damn my luck!

So I’m going to ask around, to see what I need to look for, and what is a reasonable fee I should pay for a self-published book? I’m going to ask for recommendations, who I should avoid, and frankly any bit of advice I can get from writers and publishing professionals. I’m determined to do this so I want to do it right. I don’t want to skimp and end up with an inferior product, but I also can’t spend indiscriminately.

 

Answering the call

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I found a couple of brave readers to give my manuscript a quick once over, so you can rest easy. I, however, am a nervous wreck. Will they like it? Hate it? Turn me over to the grammar police who will decide that I should die due to my many grammatical infractions? Maybe I should try to relax and find something better to do.

So I took out another manuscript, and I’m glancing over it, wanting to see what I need to do to finish that one. I’m not too invested in completing another work, but it’ll give me something to do, and I need to get into the habit of writing everyday. It’ll also take my mind off of the fact that two readers hold the key to my happiness or misery in their hands.

So, no pressure.