How’s the Editing Coming Along?

Poem 14 – We the Mourners Poem 15 – We the Mourners

How’s the Editing Coming Along?

Thought I’d drop a wee line or two about how the editing is coming along! I’ve been working pretty consistently on edits. Not every day as I should be…but nearly every day. I’m definitely thinking about the novel every day, but golly, sometimes it’s hard to get my butt in the chair and actually work on it.

Today has been a productive day. I got through two chapters, and started on a third.

Here’s what I’m doing:

Cut and paste a chapter at a time from the Word document I used for beta reads, into a ‘main’ Google document. I’m writing in a Google doc because my little old laptop does not enjoy working in Word, and because it constantly updates safely. Edit the chapter. Word by word. Line by line. There have already been several chapters where *major* changes have happened. Thank you again to all those who offered incredible feedback in the beta reads. Print the chapter. Read the chapter again. Make more edits. (I always find a least one typo when I read the chapter out on paper.)Make a list of the main scenes and any important information (like, what day it is, or if there’s something I need to remember in the chapter for a forthcoming chapter) on a large cue purple card. Staple it all together. Make the new edits in the chapter on the Google doc.Cut and paste the chapter into Scrivener in a new manuscript. Scrivener houses ALL versions of the story. Cut and paste the next chapter to review in the Google doc. Repeat.

I admit that even after all these years writing, I still get insects in my tummy before I sit down and write. It’s like…I’m nervous to work on my own writing, with my own characters. I’m nervous to face the immense amount of work each chapter asks of me in editing. But then…when I finally start, and just ‘do it’, my tummy relaxes and I do it. It feels really great to have some tactile exchanges with the writing when printing out hard copies and making chapter notes.

But friends…there’s still sooo much to go!

Alas, this is the process.

I’ve made a self-proclaimed deadline for a full edit completion by early August. I will then hire a copy-editor and pay for a copy-edit. I hope this edit as well as all the consequent edits I’ll make after that will be complete by September. While the copy-edit is happening, I will razzle-dazzle-ize my query letter and make a list of agents to submit to. Or publishers. I don’t know yet, actually, what I’ll do first. !!! I don’t think I can make that decision until the book is complete and my heart leads me.

And so it goes.

Some things that have inspired as of late:

Shawna Lemay’s Transactions With Beauty

The Marginalian

Supr Ordinary

Also…I made this fun cover…for my novel…