25 June 2017

#Editing-11 – Scales Falling From My Eyes

Pilgrims of the Pool is finished. Except… it nearly is finished!

Last week’s post centred on my concern over a holiday interrupting the editing. I take it all back. I might even plan one to coincide with the final round of edits of the next novel. Yes, distance really does help to remove the scales from our eyes. For me it has proved better than letting the typescript rest in a drawer; in a drawer I still think about it. Away on holiday I didn’t.

I’ve been engaged on the final final edit this week, and the last series of Comments I made in the margins – those I stared at and tussled over, seemingly for weeks – have been resolved in double-quick time, by additions, deletions or rewriting scenes.

I am currently on my last read through to ensure I’ve left no loose threads. And guess what? I’ll be away three days this week, too [rolls eyes].

However, upload is imminent. You’ll be the first to know. Or at least immediately behind my Newsletter readers - LOL!


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 
Editing-6: Beta Readers 
Editing-7: Metadata 
Editing-8: Beyond Beta Readers
Editing-9: Writing in a Circle
Editing-10: Polishing the Novel
Editing-10A: Scheduling Hiccup

17 June 2017

#Editing-10A: Er… Scheduling Hiccup

Pilgrims of the Pool is finished. Except it’s not… because I’ve been on holiday.

Was this a good plan? Obviously not, though it seemed to be when the holiday was booked back at the beginning of the year. A few members of Hornsea Writers, the support group I belong to, had marked their respective cards to “have summer off” and mine was supposed to start at the beginning of June. Best laid plans…

Yet burn-out is as rife among authors as the rest of the creative industries, and the marketing & publicity side of authorship carries on regardless.

This weekend I’m taking part in a freebie promo – Best of British – with a 25% extract of Torc of Moonlight. At least my Welcome sequence of newsletters is now fully automated, complete with their discounts and freebies. 

For those interested, my mailing list now tops 1,000 recipients. Check out my new Newsletter landing page by clicking the blue button, top right. You don’t have to follow it through.

Back to the editing.


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 
Editing-6: Beta Readers 
Editing-7: Metadata 
Editing-8: Beyond Beta Readers
Editing-9: Writing in a Circle
Editing-10: Polishing the Novel
Editing-10A: Scheduling Hiccup
Editing-11: - Scales Falling from my Eyes


3 June 2017

Editing-10: Polishing the Novel

Pilgrims of the Pool is finished. Except it’s not.

I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the number of page reads this series of posts has gathered. Readers who have been with me from the first will realise I am now into dancing mode. It feels like it – two steps forward, one step back.

As part of the editing process, last week I needed to Write in a Circle. Well, the opening chapters have been re-structured, the flow eased, the echoes between characters and between time periods re-established on a slightly different footing, character motivations and fears ramped up and/or pulled back. Short stories, even novellas, may fall from brain to page in a single torrent, but novels need coaxing, marshalling into form, and drilling until the disparate elements are… dancing to the same beat. It can take time and numerous reruns.

However, there comes a point when the writing is not improved, merely made different. I am now at the stage of enough! It is time for an unemotional, mechanical, walk-through. I use Pro-Writing Aid – other software is available – which will highlight everything from passive verbs to convoluted sentence structure.  I don’t expect it to find much that I haven’t intended, in fact I’ll be miffed if it does, but it makes a good final check.

See you on the other side.


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 
Editing-6: Beta Readers 
Editing-7: Metadata 
Editing-8: Beyond Beta Readers
Editing-9: Writing in a Circle
Editing-10: Polishing the Novel