Must Edit!

March 2017 Blog

This is the third month in a row I'm posting my blog on time. I'm so proud!

Must Edit!

Using my inside voice today. Writing outside in 50+ mph winds was not working for me.

Must Edit! A Haiku

Words that fall Willy-

Nilly on the page, needs must

Be put to order.

I'm actually get back to my mantra for the year: Must Write! Must Edit! Must Publish! Must Promote! And this month's post is "Must Edit!"

Remembering that "all the first draft has to do is exist", hopefully you have written what you wanted without censoring yourself.

But, even if you hire a professional editor, you need to go back through the manuscript yourself at least once, preferably twice. You will be looking for obvious plot problems, continuity errors, and anachronisms (if you are writing a period piece) besides errors in spelling and grammar.

In my first edit, I concentrate on making certain my typist (who is my dear husband) has actually gotten my words right (even if I make a mistake – and I do), correcting what's wrong and taking care of punctuation problems – his or mine.

After going through it again to see if it still makes sense and catching leftover typos, it's read to send out for professional editing.

When it comes back with suggestions and corrections, it's time to make them (or not – just remember you hired an editor to improve your manuscript so you may want to carefully consider their probably expensive input) and then send it off for publishing.

Being an independent publisher, it is time for me to go through the file one last time, line-for-line making the changes in font, style and spacing that will make it compatible with (in my case) CreateSpace and/or Smashwords publishing tools. I have found both incredibly easy to work with.

Another take on editing is far more esoteric. I want to make certain my content is age appropriate for the intended audience. Besides General Fiction, I write for Middle Grade & Young Adults. There are words and concepts that need to be handled more carefully there, although the lines are becoming increasingly more blurred.

For my General Fiction. regardless of the genre, I find I need to be careful not to pull my punches – not to try to cater or pander to my audience – but to be true to my voice.

I believe my audience appreciates that honesty, al least I've not had complaints about it. I'm even occasionally encouraged to push against my own restraints in future projects and become even edgier.

In the end, however, I have to enjoy reading my own writing. If I can smile at the look and the professionalism and the story contained in my proof copy, I can smile at my audience and bid them to enjoy.

Since I seem to on a monthly roll here, you can expect my next blog post "Must Publish!" on April 1^st – that is if the good lord's willin' and the creek don't rise. Wait – it'll be spring. Those things could happen.