I’ve updated a post I made about two years ago regarding
editing. I am currently into the final edits of two books that I hope to get to
a publisher (for us writers hope is a very real state of mind). Editing is as
much a part of the writing process as is the creation of the story, welcome it,
enjoy the process, immerse yourself and get your fingers all pruney.
A published book must be edited, period. Well edited,
period. No buts or excuses. Remarks such as: “No one will notice,” “It’s just a
comma for Pete’s sake,” “It’s my book, I can do what I want, it’s my way of
being independent, showing my difference,” are not acceptable (and I’m sure the
punctuation is wrong, somewhere, for the previous phrasing). Baloney, you
worked hard on your story, you must present it as perfectly as possible. There
are very good examples of going off the trail such as Amanda Coplin’s The Orchardist (with not one attributed
quote) but I warn you, that trail can be extremely difficult to take.
I am saying this after having six novels professionally edited. But still, while going through the galley/final
proof, the errors I continue to find (post edit) just make me shake my head. Not
to blame the editor, but I, as the author, must review the book at every stage,
checking for spelling, spell-check is great but it is dumber than a box of
rocks, i.e. canvas and canvass are both correct, except when they are reversed
in the story. And we are all aware of to, too, and two. (BTW, what does to plus too equal?) Punctuation has rules, but it’s the typos that get lost, little
things like the comma after a quote that is followed by an attribution, i.e.
“She melted,” Dorothy said. If you place a period after melted the punctuation
review in you MS Word won’t pick it up. Do a search and replace. And on and on
and on. The axiom, “The devil’s in the details,” is truth.
An editor is critical; they have the experience
and single-minded purpose to eliminate errors and confusions. With Track
Changes in Word, the author can follow the editors proposed changes, approve or
reject them and then produce the final manuscript. But at the same time the
author must not blithely okay them, look at the suggestions and understand the
corrections before approving the final.
This has nothing to do with style or content. In this
particular area of editing or more specifically copy-editing, it is form over
substance. For some books both a content editor and a copy-editor are needed,
and in fact demanded. And, even beyond that for non-fiction, a fact-checking
and even data checking editor might be employed. The wrong address in a travel
book can be messy, the wrong phone number survives until the next edition (and
if for an B&B you will never be comped a room). The responsibility is yours as
the author.
I have started a list of phrases and misspellings that I commonly
make, I do a search for each in a methodical way to find and change as needed (here and her are one of my faves).
I do the same for punctuation, things like the above mentioned period instead
of a comma. Keep a list; in fact start a manual to use for each edit. Do your
reviews before you send the manuscript on to your underpaid editor. If they
work hourly, you will save some time and money.
I offered blogs on SmartEdit during the past year, this is a good program.
Learn it and use it. Find a good book or guide on writing that focuses on
grammar, spelling (difficult words), style and punctuation (I have at least
five on a shelf). The rules (and they are rules) are simple and direct. One of
the best guides is Lynne Truss’s book Eats,
Shoots & Leaves. It’s humorous and stays with you. Also Grammar Girl is
very good, but you can get lost or lose hours reading thru her subjects – but it’s
worth it. (CLICK HERE)
We work very, very hard at presenting the best story. We
fold time, kill off evil doers, invent fantastic machines, discover unknown
countries, and tell simple stories of boy meets girl or boy meets prom queen
who turns out to be an alien mind-sucking zombie who drives a BMW. Don’t mess it up with a poor
presentation.
More later. . . .
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