Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Wednesday Writerly Ways~ Editing

This is a subject that can't be stressed enough. While I edit other people's books and edit my own fairly thoroughly, I still find mistakes long after a book goes to press. Whether it's my own work or someone else's.

Even with a half a dozen or two dozen eyes on the thing, there are still mistakes. It irritates me to no end. Even traditionally published books have errors. This is mainly a cost saving method after the galleys. There are a limited number of passes they[publishers] are willing to pay for.

In traditional publishing, your manuscript passes through a dozen set of hands before it actually goes to print. In my mind, surely one of those sets of eyes should have caught the error that my eyes keep tripping over when reading, right? Nope, the eyes belong to humans and humans are inherently flawed.

The same is true for indie published manuscripts.

It's our flaws that makes us unique, isn't it? Sometimes this is correct, but not where writing is concerned. Your writing should be flawless. So how do you get there from where you are now?

This is not an easy thing to do. Most of us have a problem getting the straight lined approach to this problem so we hire editors, have readers who will honestly point out these issues, and pray a lot. We take additional English classes. We try everything we know to do, but still the path to editing looks more like this. =====>

I don't know about you, but I've got enough gray hairs and bald spots from the editing process.  But still, I go through the motions of thee editing passes, critiques, beta readers, and my own final editing pass before submitting a work for publication.  As pain stakingly as I try...Still there are errors.

Some things to remember when editing...

# ONE
NOT...

# TWO
 Is easier to erase than...
 
#THREE 
is not as colorful, but is inherently better than...

 #FOUR
 MOST IMPORTANTLY

Keep writing and loving the Lord.

8 comments:

  1. No one can catch all the mistakes. That said, I rely very heavily on my editor because I DON'T understand grammar. I try, and I'm getting better but I need help.

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    1. I understand grammar, but the words tip me up. :o)

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  2. LOL! OK, I love the "shows management potential" quote--ha! :D

    But you're right. Just keep swimming, keep editing. And remember Murphy's law... it's got your name! And be patient!

    Here's to beautiful manuscripts~ <3

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  3. I've never published anything that is perfect -- even when read by eight sets of eyes.

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  4. Between me, my test readers, my critique partners, my publisher, and my publisher's senior editor, we all miss stuff. Yes, makes me crazy. That's why once the finished version of my book comes out, I won't read it. At that point, it would kill me to find a typo.

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    Replies
    1. Ninjitsu Master! You forgot line editor and copy editor...I may read and crit my books that are standard published. My readers of the work let me know all the gory typos. :o(

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