Rachael Eyre's Blog - Posts Tagged "editing"
Editing
When you write, it's all too easy to get caught up in the exciting side of the process. Brainstorming ideas, buying seductive new stationery, clickety clacking away on your laptop like you're in Murder, She Wrote. Once your first draft is complete, it's tempting to bung it in the nearest envelope and mail it away to an undoubtedly delighted publisher.
That isn't how it works.
Often, an author has only read their novel all the way through once, or staggered it over a number of sessions (reading a 400+ page novel takes ages). This isn't anywhere near enough to ensure it's of publishable quality. You can have the best plot and characters in the world, but if your manuscript is cluttered with typos and inconsistencies, an agent is unlikely to read past the first page.
It may seem shallow, but think about it: an employer scanning the CVs of two equally qualified candidates will select the well presented, accurate one over the scruffy, unintelligible one. The same holds true for your MS.
Spelling and grammar
News flash: not all writers are excellent spellers. Daphne du Maurier's was dreadful; luckily she had the understanding Victor Gollancz as a publisher. Nowadays the market is far more competitive and publishers have to be ruthless. Don't give them this most basic of reasons to reject your work.
If you know spelling is your weak point, spell check your MS within an inch of its life. Pay a proofreader if you can afford it. Indeed, a human touch is preferable- your spell check won't spot commonly confused words or sentences that don't make any sense. I was recently reading a book where every time the word 'stationery' (i.e pens and paper) appeared, it was spelt 'stationary' as in still, and 'past' (as in 'the man walked past') as 'passed'. Perhaps I'm too finicky but it really detracted from my enjoyment. Considering this book has been extensively hyped, it's surprising nobody has picked up on this.
Nor should it be any different if you self publish. Not only does poor spelling offend the reader, it'll seem to confirm oft heard arguments that self published authors are sloppy, lazy, untalented etc. Confound expectations and make your MS as professional as you can.
Clangers
It would be wonderful if writing could be linear, but in reality it's higgledy piggledy. You might have a crisis of confidence and shove your book in a drawer for a month. You may write chapters out of chronological order. You might change your mind and delete entire sections, or stick new ones in.
When this happens, it's easy to fall down the gaps. You may decide to change your heroine's name but forget to do it in all instances. If the story's heavily autobiographical, you may slip your own name in by accident (this occurs in works by respected authors!) A scene may begin in tropical heat and end in a snowstorm; flowers may bloom at the wrong time of year; characters' ages, appearances and personalities may drastically change. Again, this isn't confined to amateurs; Sir Arthur Conan Doyle could never remember where Watson's war wound was located. At one point he even forgets the good doctor's name!
Lack of research
Back in the day, a writer could be forgiven (if not excused) for making mistakes. Now, with the Internet at your fingertips, you can access every piece of esoteric knowledge on the planet.
Unsure about the exact provenance of a quote? Don't know who the first man in space was? Google it. As we all know from real life, there's few things as irritating as somebody gabbling on when we know the answer! A lackadaisical attitude is particularly offensive when it's a major plot point. I have no idea which version of Swan Lake the writers of Black Swan had watched, but it's nothing like the ballet I know and love.
Words
Writers love words, and a thesaurus should never be far away. But are you positive you're using the right ones?
It never ceases to astonish how many writers misuse words and expressions. It's as though they've thought: "Oh, that sounds good," but not troubled to look it up. I've read about heroines with 'transparent' skin (yuk!), seen 'truculent' as a substitute of shy and retiring (it most certainly is not) and all kinds of meanings attached to 'insidious'. A favourite seems to be 'egregious'; you could play a drinking game for every time it's used online. For the record, it means "outstandingly bad", not the various permutations it's undergone!
True story: I once wrote an article for the school newspaper, opening: "Perceptive parents will have noticed." Somewhere, somehow, this was changed to "prospective parents", which makes no sense at all! This happened sixteen years ago, but I can still remember how angry and upset I was that it had been changed - not to mention the fact that nobody else seemed to notice!
Although we're often advised against using common expressions on the grounds they're cliched (another overused word!), a world where they're never employed would be a surreal place. Bar idiosyncratic ones you've created, it's jarring when you get them wrong. Once they've figured out what you mean, a reader will think, "That's in common parlance, how did they mix it up?" If a character is intended to be pretentious but thick or have difficulty with such expressions, go ahead; if it's in the narrative, there's an issue.
Formatting
I have a confession to make: when I started my creative writing course, my formatting was appalling. I didn't have a clue about paragraphs, indents and spacing. Then, as now, I was a voracious reader, and tried to put what I'd seen into practice, but it wasn't enough. You need to actively learn.
Regard formatting as a gift to the reader. It's your duty to make it as clear and easy to follow as possible. Be consistent: if you've used speech marks up to now, don't suddenly jack them in. Break up paragraphs- there's nothing more intimidating to your reader than a solid block of text, no end in sight. Make sure your punctuation flows and, more to the point, does its job.
Remember...
Like much else, editing is highly personal. You might prefer to bash it out over a long weekend, or proofread as you go along. Since we all reach a stage where we can't see errors for looking, it's worth printing it out and arming yourself with a multicoloured biro. Use different colours for the different types of slip up.
Even then you can never 100% guarantee that you've found every mistake. I know there are typos in my books, and blush whenever I think of them. The most important thing is to prevent it becoming a pattern: while a reader may make allowances for the odd typo or rogue comma, they won't by the tenth.
That isn't how it works.
Often, an author has only read their novel all the way through once, or staggered it over a number of sessions (reading a 400+ page novel takes ages). This isn't anywhere near enough to ensure it's of publishable quality. You can have the best plot and characters in the world, but if your manuscript is cluttered with typos and inconsistencies, an agent is unlikely to read past the first page.
It may seem shallow, but think about it: an employer scanning the CVs of two equally qualified candidates will select the well presented, accurate one over the scruffy, unintelligible one. The same holds true for your MS.
Spelling and grammar
News flash: not all writers are excellent spellers. Daphne du Maurier's was dreadful; luckily she had the understanding Victor Gollancz as a publisher. Nowadays the market is far more competitive and publishers have to be ruthless. Don't give them this most basic of reasons to reject your work.
If you know spelling is your weak point, spell check your MS within an inch of its life. Pay a proofreader if you can afford it. Indeed, a human touch is preferable- your spell check won't spot commonly confused words or sentences that don't make any sense. I was recently reading a book where every time the word 'stationery' (i.e pens and paper) appeared, it was spelt 'stationary' as in still, and 'past' (as in 'the man walked past') as 'passed'. Perhaps I'm too finicky but it really detracted from my enjoyment. Considering this book has been extensively hyped, it's surprising nobody has picked up on this.
Nor should it be any different if you self publish. Not only does poor spelling offend the reader, it'll seem to confirm oft heard arguments that self published authors are sloppy, lazy, untalented etc. Confound expectations and make your MS as professional as you can.
Clangers
It would be wonderful if writing could be linear, but in reality it's higgledy piggledy. You might have a crisis of confidence and shove your book in a drawer for a month. You may write chapters out of chronological order. You might change your mind and delete entire sections, or stick new ones in.
When this happens, it's easy to fall down the gaps. You may decide to change your heroine's name but forget to do it in all instances. If the story's heavily autobiographical, you may slip your own name in by accident (this occurs in works by respected authors!) A scene may begin in tropical heat and end in a snowstorm; flowers may bloom at the wrong time of year; characters' ages, appearances and personalities may drastically change. Again, this isn't confined to amateurs; Sir Arthur Conan Doyle could never remember where Watson's war wound was located. At one point he even forgets the good doctor's name!
Lack of research
Back in the day, a writer could be forgiven (if not excused) for making mistakes. Now, with the Internet at your fingertips, you can access every piece of esoteric knowledge on the planet.
Unsure about the exact provenance of a quote? Don't know who the first man in space was? Google it. As we all know from real life, there's few things as irritating as somebody gabbling on when we know the answer! A lackadaisical attitude is particularly offensive when it's a major plot point. I have no idea which version of Swan Lake the writers of Black Swan had watched, but it's nothing like the ballet I know and love.
Words
Writers love words, and a thesaurus should never be far away. But are you positive you're using the right ones?
It never ceases to astonish how many writers misuse words and expressions. It's as though they've thought: "Oh, that sounds good," but not troubled to look it up. I've read about heroines with 'transparent' skin (yuk!), seen 'truculent' as a substitute of shy and retiring (it most certainly is not) and all kinds of meanings attached to 'insidious'. A favourite seems to be 'egregious'; you could play a drinking game for every time it's used online. For the record, it means "outstandingly bad", not the various permutations it's undergone!
True story: I once wrote an article for the school newspaper, opening: "Perceptive parents will have noticed." Somewhere, somehow, this was changed to "prospective parents", which makes no sense at all! This happened sixteen years ago, but I can still remember how angry and upset I was that it had been changed - not to mention the fact that nobody else seemed to notice!
Although we're often advised against using common expressions on the grounds they're cliched (another overused word!), a world where they're never employed would be a surreal place. Bar idiosyncratic ones you've created, it's jarring when you get them wrong. Once they've figured out what you mean, a reader will think, "That's in common parlance, how did they mix it up?" If a character is intended to be pretentious but thick or have difficulty with such expressions, go ahead; if it's in the narrative, there's an issue.
Formatting
I have a confession to make: when I started my creative writing course, my formatting was appalling. I didn't have a clue about paragraphs, indents and spacing. Then, as now, I was a voracious reader, and tried to put what I'd seen into practice, but it wasn't enough. You need to actively learn.
Regard formatting as a gift to the reader. It's your duty to make it as clear and easy to follow as possible. Be consistent: if you've used speech marks up to now, don't suddenly jack them in. Break up paragraphs- there's nothing more intimidating to your reader than a solid block of text, no end in sight. Make sure your punctuation flows and, more to the point, does its job.
Remember...
Like much else, editing is highly personal. You might prefer to bash it out over a long weekend, or proofread as you go along. Since we all reach a stage where we can't see errors for looking, it's worth printing it out and arming yourself with a multicoloured biro. Use different colours for the different types of slip up.
Even then you can never 100% guarantee that you've found every mistake. I know there are typos in my books, and blush whenever I think of them. The most important thing is to prevent it becoming a pattern: while a reader may make allowances for the odd typo or rogue comma, they won't by the tenth.
