Tag Archives: editing

Can’t freakin’ believe it

Posted on by Sherri
12

Okay. Yesterday saw a milestone, and some of you witnessed it on Facebook: I finished my work in progress. Now, this may not seem like a very big deal to some people, and it may not be a very big deal to me later, but right now, yeah. It’s huge. Do you know what a struggle this book has been? Later on, when I’m talking about how I learned to be a writer, I’ll cite the two years I worked on this book. I’ll tell how I almost succumbed to the self-doubt; how I learned what real writer’s block is; how I injured my hand and almost gave up the writing biz altogether. I knew it was going to be hard when I started because of the subject matter, but I didn’t know how it would feel to be in the middle of it, and when other things started to pile on, well… You get the idea.

I’m not completely finished yet; I still have to edit the damn thing. I’ve had a few people ask me if I would now do the expected thing and let it sit for a few weeks before tackling the edit. I feel very strongly that this wisdom doesn’t apply here. I have prospects waiting for this manuscript, for one. For another, I took long breaks during the process, and I haven’t read the first half of the novel since I started this last push to the end. I’m motivated and excited; I know what it’s like to not be those things and if they leave again I’ll take a break, but I don’t want to waste them while they’re here.

So I have a long way to go. I still have to make some hard decisions, and I’m still not entirely confident in my abilities. However, the editing has always been easier for me than the actual writing. And I’ll have it done by the end of February, this I vow.

I can’t freakin’ believe it.

Speaking of book covers…

Posted on by Sherri
6

The company I edit for does videos of their monthly releases, and this month’s is out. My friend Jayden Chelsee/Tabitha Shay’s western romance is the first book you see in the video, but I didn’t work on that one.

No, both of the ones I worked on are erotica short stories, and I’ve just seen the covers for the first time. They are fantastic! Jezebel’s Article is a vampire fantasy, and Ink Me is set in a tattoo shop. I edited these at the same time, switching off (hm, reminds me of Jezebel’s Article…) and though the protagonists have similar voices, the stories are very different. If you’re into such literature, go check ‘em out!

Jezebel's Article Ink Me

Me today

Posted on by Sherri
5

I have a little fragrance hangover. Yesterday was my daughter’s Thanksgiving lunch at school, and I actually did quite well. Felt fine (as fine as I ever do) while I was there and into the evening. The eyesight started to get a little iffy around nine, and I went to bed soon after. Woke up this morning with bad eyes, but let me tell you, I am grateful for these bad eyes. You know why? Because last year at this time I was just starting The Time of the Migraine, a good two months in which I had constant blurry vision and any whiff of fragrance brought forth the headache. And the year before that, I had bronchitis or pneumonia or something along with a bad back but was unable to go to the doctor, so both lasted for months. I can handle a little fragrance hangover.

This fragrance thing is actually getting more manageable. I think I’m healing, as the reactions for the past several months haven’t been as strong. Trips to the store are less taxing. I can think while at a school function. It’s tempting to start letting my guard down, but I know this is a slow process. I have to let my body heal.

Finally seeing the end of this editing project. It’s the first novel I’ve edited, been editing shorts, so it seemed to go forever. I’m at the point now where I know what it’s like to be an editor, and I need to balance it against my own writing. Do I like editing enough to put my book on hold for three weeks? Not sure about that. I’d planned to get BVA done by Christmas, something I could have done if my editing assignment had been another short. I had no idea how much time a novel would take.

Gotta get bananas for Maggie’s class . Thanks for everybody’s good wishes about her arm, it’s not bothering her too much, with the brace.

So…that’s me today. What’s up with you?

Observations of a new editor

Posted on by Sherri
13

So I have this editing job. I haven’t decided yet if it’s a good idea to associate my writer persona with my editing persona, so I won’t be linking to or mentioning the company by name in this post. I’ve learned some things that would benefit my author friends, so I thought I’d share in a vague, generic way.

First of all, it’s not like a critique. In a critique you can say things like, “I can’t follow the action in this scene,” and then leave it up to the author to figure out why. That’s perfectly acceptable, because as the critic you’re doing the author a favor, and they’ll take what you have to offer. As an editor, I have to figure out exactly what confuses me about the action, and then say that. Saying it is the hard part. If I do my job right, the solution will be obvious to the author, even if I haven’t suggested a solution. Which ties in with my next point.

Editing is a balance of telling the author what to do and letting her decide how to do it. Except in the case of punctuation, where there is a right way and a wrong way, but even then if she feels strongly about leaving out a specific comma, that’s ultimately her decision. I have to be very careful about rewriting anything. If I can’t move around phrases she’s already used to fix it, I leave a suggested fix in a comment, then she can either take my advice as is, change it another way, or tell me to take a flying leap. Although the last one on that list might be counter-productive, since I’m an impartial observer (or at least as impartial as anyone can be), and I’m only here to make her look better. Which leads to…

The editor is there to correct mistakes, no doubt. But among some authors there’s this attitude of, “So I don’t know how to punctuate a sentence correctly, that’s what editors are for.” Let me take a moment to point out I’ve not yet edited an author with this attitude, but I’ve seen it around in the blogosphere. But let me tell you something, dear authors, this attitude is stupid. STUPID. If my harsh words pull one author away from this abyss, they will be worth it. Not only is it good to know your craft inside and out for your craft’s sake, but there’s a practical purpose for knowing the nuts and bolts, and then putting them into practice BEFORE sending it to your editor.

If I have your manuscript for 20 days, and I spend the full 20 helping you polish your words, you are going to have one tight, well-written book. A tight, well-written book will increase your reputation, generate better word-of-mouth, ergo selling more books and creating more fans. However, if I have to spend seven of those days correcting hundreds or even thousands of typos which could easily have been found before the ms came to me, then you are getting only 13 days of word polishing. We might only have time for plot and eliminating confusion, and very little time for word choices and flow.

So those are the observations I have so far. I’m sure I’ll have more as I go along, and maybe even change my mind about some of those up there. (Except for the last one. Since I basically called everyone who doesn’t agree with me an idiot I’ll have to stick by it. It’s true anyway.) I’m getting the education of a lifetime, being on this side of things.