10 March 2017

‘Pilgrims of the Pool’ Is Finished. Now what? #Editing

Final in the 'Torc of Moonlight' trilogy
Let’s be correct here: Pilgrims of the Pool is not finished; the first draft is finished. But let’s celebrate a bit on that score. After much angst it finally has The End pinned to its typescript. It – and me – now moves into the Editing phase. But what does this actually mean?

I don’t write what is often termed a ‘fast and dirty draft’ so the novel is edited, sometimes ferociously, alongside the writing of it. This says a lot about why I’m not a fast writer. It also means that my editing regime wouldn’t work for everyone, but for me, this is the schedule:
  • Structural edit
  • Content edit
  • Line edit
  • Continuity edit beyond books 1 & 2
  • Combined structural/content/line edit
  • Transfer to e-reader for eagle-eyed read-through
  • Beta readers
  • Draft the metadata (all the descriptions needed for publishing)
  • Edit (or hopefully just tweak) after studying comments from beta readers
  • Collapse (a rest period where I ensure the marketing is ready for the launch)
  • Format for ebook
  • Transfer to e-reader for final eagle-eyed read-through
  • Finalise metadata

Over the coming weeks I’ll be writing posts on what each entails. If you’re interested in receiving these as they are written, key your e-address into the 'Follow My Posts By Email' box in the column on the right. Otherwise, I'll be back next weekend with the whys & wherefores of a Structural Edit.


See also:
Editing-1: What does editing actually mean?
Editing-2: The Structural Edit
Editing-3: The Content Edit
Editing-4: The Line Edit
Editing-5: Line Edit update


6 comments :

  1. Well done, Linda. Looking forward to the read.

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    1. Thanks for the thumbs up, Stuart. I'm sharpening the blue pencil (or in my case red Biro) as I write this. LOL!

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  2. Congratulations. Celebrate every step! Life is short!

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  3. By the way - the cover is wonderful.

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    1. Thanks Sharon, and yes I agree about celebrating every step, no matter what we do or try to achieve.

      And thanks for the thumbs up to the cover. It is rather good, isn't it? Needless to say, *not* my work but my cover designer Karri Klawiter http://artbykarri.com/

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