Ceara Comeau's Blog: Lessons From A Struggling Writer - Posts Tagged "editing"
Editing...Editing...PROOFREAD!
"Oh, I've edited my manuscript so many times, I forgot which draft I'm on!"
If I had a dollar for every time I've said this, I'd have enough to hire a book publicist. But is it really about how many drafts you're on? Is that a good measurement of when you should stop editing or proofreading your manuscript? Absolutely not.
When I first started out writing, I was so impatient when it came to editing my work. I didn't care about how I should improve my craft, I just wanted the editing done yesterday. Editing is, by far, the longest process of writing a book, but for me it was even longer. Was it to do with my impatience? Partly, but the real reason? I'll let you in on a secret. I'm terrible when it comes to English. In fact, I had to take remedial English class in college just so I could graduate!
To this day, I wish I had paid more attention in English class during my school years, but nothing can be done about that now. Sooo what did I do to improve? I read! I read as many books in the genre I was interested in and some even outside of that genre. I learned from other authors what writing style I liked best and from there I grew. Now, I'm not saying to forgo English classes as they are extremely important to a writer's life, but there are other ways to learn.
With my latest book, I didn't even bother counting how many drafts I went through. To me, it was about the learning process. I even told my editor that I wanted her to highlight areas that needed to be fixed so that I could improve. Even after she went through it, and she did a good job, I re-read my book from a reader's point of view and found several weak areas within certain explanations.
In truth, the editing process is never-ending only because as writers we always want to strive for our best to give our readers the best experience possible.
If I had a dollar for every time I've said this, I'd have enough to hire a book publicist. But is it really about how many drafts you're on? Is that a good measurement of when you should stop editing or proofreading your manuscript? Absolutely not.
When I first started out writing, I was so impatient when it came to editing my work. I didn't care about how I should improve my craft, I just wanted the editing done yesterday. Editing is, by far, the longest process of writing a book, but for me it was even longer. Was it to do with my impatience? Partly, but the real reason? I'll let you in on a secret. I'm terrible when it comes to English. In fact, I had to take remedial English class in college just so I could graduate!
To this day, I wish I had paid more attention in English class during my school years, but nothing can be done about that now. Sooo what did I do to improve? I read! I read as many books in the genre I was interested in and some even outside of that genre. I learned from other authors what writing style I liked best and from there I grew. Now, I'm not saying to forgo English classes as they are extremely important to a writer's life, but there are other ways to learn.
With my latest book, I didn't even bother counting how many drafts I went through. To me, it was about the learning process. I even told my editor that I wanted her to highlight areas that needed to be fixed so that I could improve. Even after she went through it, and she did a good job, I re-read my book from a reader's point of view and found several weak areas within certain explanations.
In truth, the editing process is never-ending only because as writers we always want to strive for our best to give our readers the best experience possible.
Changes
May has been filled with so many new beginnings for me and my husband. From getting a new car for me (and yes, it’s blue!) to house hunting at the end of this month (which is why this blog post was done at the last second).
But general new life beginnings aren’t the only thing that’s new in my life! Changes in the way I view my writing style have made a drastic change and, dare I say, improvement. I know I’ve spoken about my editing process in the past, probably when I first started this blog, but I’ve never really said anything in great detail. I mainly complained about how difficult the process is, which, to this day, still remains true.
Over the last few weeks, I’ve decided to take a different approach with my editing. Before I’d read my manuscript on my laptop several times and call it good. It’d go off to beta readers and then to my editor. But I finally took advice from my first beta reader (a.k.a my dad) and decided to print out my manuscript and read through it. At first, I honestly humored him. I didn’t understand what he saw when reading my book, but the second I started reading it, I saw what he meant.
Looking at my book from a different perspective gave me an entirely new outlook on the editing process. I read it from a reader’s point of view and I caught so many plot holes and grammatical errors. Had I continued my old way of editing and just read it on a screen, I can guarantee I wouldn’t have seen those errors as some were very small.
So, this month has seriously encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone even more, try new things, whether it be a new car, a new house, or something as simple as a new way of writing. And if I can encourage any new writers out there, I’d say, don’t be afraid to take chances!
But general new life beginnings aren’t the only thing that’s new in my life! Changes in the way I view my writing style have made a drastic change and, dare I say, improvement. I know I’ve spoken about my editing process in the past, probably when I first started this blog, but I’ve never really said anything in great detail. I mainly complained about how difficult the process is, which, to this day, still remains true.
Over the last few weeks, I’ve decided to take a different approach with my editing. Before I’d read my manuscript on my laptop several times and call it good. It’d go off to beta readers and then to my editor. But I finally took advice from my first beta reader (a.k.a my dad) and decided to print out my manuscript and read through it. At first, I honestly humored him. I didn’t understand what he saw when reading my book, but the second I started reading it, I saw what he meant.
Looking at my book from a different perspective gave me an entirely new outlook on the editing process. I read it from a reader’s point of view and I caught so many plot holes and grammatical errors. Had I continued my old way of editing and just read it on a screen, I can guarantee I wouldn’t have seen those errors as some were very small.
So, this month has seriously encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone even more, try new things, whether it be a new car, a new house, or something as simple as a new way of writing. And if I can encourage any new writers out there, I’d say, don’t be afraid to take chances!
New Year, New Mindset
We are nearing New Year’s and I think I speak for everyone when I say hindsight will be 2020 (sorry, couldn’t resist). But it’s true. We’ve gone through a lot this year—some, more than others. But like every year around this time, I find myself reflecting on what I learned.
Now, granted, this year was especially difficult to focus on the things I’ve learned about myself. Even now, I struggle to think of what made the most impact on me. If I’m going, to be honest with myself, it’s the same thing nearly year after year—perfectionism.
Anyone who knows me well enough will tell you that I am a perfectionist in anything I do and I’m sure I’ve mentioned it at least once or twice here. Whether it be my day job, extra hobbies, and yes, especially writing; I’m always giving my all. I always find my writing to be the metaphorical love of my life (aside from my husband of course) and also my Achilles heel. The writing part is easy for me…the beta reading/edits, not so much.
Like most people, I hate being told that something doesn’t work well in my work. I know that’s why they’re called drafts. But it’s hard for me to divorce myself from my perfectionist ways, so much that I intentionally find other things to do other than going over beta reader comments. It’s nothing against them. Subconsciously I know they’re all trying to help me improve my craft. (And if any of them are reading this post, thanks for putting up with me 😉). But deep down, it kills me that I keep making mistakes, and sometimes I keep making the same ones over and over again.
If 2020 has taught me anything it’s that I need to slow down. With events canceled and book sales plummeting, I had no choice but to take a breather and get back to my core roots—writing for the love of it. Yes, my quota for publishing a book a year might be a bit off right now, but so is almost every writer out there. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop. It just means I need to really evaluate my life as a writer. Why do I put off editing? Why can’t I tolerate looking at my mistakes? Why do I get so angry with myself?
I’ll give you a clue—perfectionism. It’s awful. It slows me down and, in some cases, debilitates me. And I guess it began when I first started writing. I never let anyone look at my work when I was younger (pre-publishing years). Want to know why? I didn’t have a lot of support. Yes, my parents were 100% supportive and I wouldn’t be where I am without them. But, they were all I had. I didn’t know any other writers at 15 and some people even thought that what I wrote was bizarre and not worth anyone’s time (joke’s on them, right? 😉).
So, I guess what my rambling is trying to get at is, I’m always trying to fight my past demons. Some days are a TON better than others. This new years’ resolution for me is this. I’m going to work harder at conquering my perfectionism and aid future/new authors in their writing endeavors. No one should ever feel like what they’re passionate about is worthless!
Now, granted, this year was especially difficult to focus on the things I’ve learned about myself. Even now, I struggle to think of what made the most impact on me. If I’m going, to be honest with myself, it’s the same thing nearly year after year—perfectionism.
Anyone who knows me well enough will tell you that I am a perfectionist in anything I do and I’m sure I’ve mentioned it at least once or twice here. Whether it be my day job, extra hobbies, and yes, especially writing; I’m always giving my all. I always find my writing to be the metaphorical love of my life (aside from my husband of course) and also my Achilles heel. The writing part is easy for me…the beta reading/edits, not so much.
Like most people, I hate being told that something doesn’t work well in my work. I know that’s why they’re called drafts. But it’s hard for me to divorce myself from my perfectionist ways, so much that I intentionally find other things to do other than going over beta reader comments. It’s nothing against them. Subconsciously I know they’re all trying to help me improve my craft. (And if any of them are reading this post, thanks for putting up with me 😉). But deep down, it kills me that I keep making mistakes, and sometimes I keep making the same ones over and over again.
If 2020 has taught me anything it’s that I need to slow down. With events canceled and book sales plummeting, I had no choice but to take a breather and get back to my core roots—writing for the love of it. Yes, my quota for publishing a book a year might be a bit off right now, but so is almost every writer out there. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop. It just means I need to really evaluate my life as a writer. Why do I put off editing? Why can’t I tolerate looking at my mistakes? Why do I get so angry with myself?
I’ll give you a clue—perfectionism. It’s awful. It slows me down and, in some cases, debilitates me. And I guess it began when I first started writing. I never let anyone look at my work when I was younger (pre-publishing years). Want to know why? I didn’t have a lot of support. Yes, my parents were 100% supportive and I wouldn’t be where I am without them. But, they were all I had. I didn’t know any other writers at 15 and some people even thought that what I wrote was bizarre and not worth anyone’s time (joke’s on them, right? 😉).
So, I guess what my rambling is trying to get at is, I’m always trying to fight my past demons. Some days are a TON better than others. This new years’ resolution for me is this. I’m going to work harder at conquering my perfectionism and aid future/new authors in their writing endeavors. No one should ever feel like what they’re passionate about is worthless!
