Peg Herring's Blog - Posts Tagged "edits"
My Impersonation of Madeline Kahn
I'mmm sooooo tired!
Book launch party last night. Nothing stressful: a lot of friends show up, eat lovely goodies, buy a book or two, and chat. But I'm still exhausted today. And last night the edits showed up on my next book with a "please return in one week" notation. And we're getting ready to take our show on the road soon. And. And. And.
There's no rest for the wicked writer, no matter how much fun she's having.
Book launch party last night. Nothing stressful: a lot of friends show up, eat lovely goodies, buy a book or two, and chat. But I'm still exhausted today. And last night the edits showed up on my next book with a "please return in one week" notation. And we're getting ready to take our show on the road soon. And. And. And.
There's no rest for the wicked writer, no matter how much fun she's having.
Edits and Finishing Them, Sort of
The problem with being a writer is that you're never off duty. Ideas arise, phrases occur, characters appear, and they have to be captured before they fade in memory.
A subdivision of that is the editing process, which can stretch into infinity. I have a very nice editor who made some very helpful suggestions on a manuscript, and I've been working on them. So am I done? Did I do what she asked me to? Yeah. I mean, I think so. But when someone asks for more setting or more clues to character, (to quote George Michael) how much is enough?
A subdivision of that is the editing process, which can stretch into infinity. I have a very nice editor who made some very helpful suggestions on a manuscript, and I've been working on them. So am I done? Did I do what she asked me to? Yeah. I mean, I think so. But when someone asks for more setting or more clues to character, (to quote George Michael) how much is enough?
But I Don't Want to Edit Anymore
I always edit my work many times before I show it to anyone else, knowing myself too well to assume I did it right the first time. Then I send it off and VOILA! someone wants to publish it. Yay!
Then come the edits.
As I read the editor's comments, I think, "Yeah, she's right. I should develop that character more," and later, "Wow. It's true, I left that chapter hanging." Farther on I think, "I really do need to clarify that plot point. She got me there."
What all this means, of course, is work: fixing, fixing, fixing, and then reading for continuity and then more fixing and more reading.
Sometimes (just for a little while) I think, "Why doesn't she get this?" Then I remind myself that this person reads for a living. If she doesn't get my meaning, what are the chances my readers will? A good editor (like the one I currently have) makes a book better, and for that any author should be--indeed, has to be--grateful.
Even when it means more work.
Then come the edits.
As I read the editor's comments, I think, "Yeah, she's right. I should develop that character more," and later, "Wow. It's true, I left that chapter hanging." Farther on I think, "I really do need to clarify that plot point. She got me there."
What all this means, of course, is work: fixing, fixing, fixing, and then reading for continuity and then more fixing and more reading.
Sometimes (just for a little while) I think, "Why doesn't she get this?" Then I remind myself that this person reads for a living. If she doesn't get my meaning, what are the chances my readers will? A good editor (like the one I currently have) makes a book better, and for that any author should be--indeed, has to be--grateful.
Even when it means more work.
