Edit….Edit….Edit….

I’m really tired of editing my next book, “Beautiful People”. It seems every time I feel like I’m close to getting the story complete and ready to go, I find something else I want to fix. I tend to be a person that jumps too soon in a lot of cases – as has been identified in some reviews of my first book “Conduit: The Beginning”. The fact is though, at least for me, is that if I get caught up in trying to provide a perfect version of my work, I’ll never have anything available for others to read.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I know how important editing is to a story and I know how distracting numerous typos or grammatical errors can be to a reader. The point I’m really trying to focus on is that there can be too much editing where a story is completely changed – the flow is ruined and the author’s voice is buried in a sea of refined substance.

I’m an indie author. I take pride in that title – even with all the negativity received from those that hold indie work in contempt. As the name implies, I’m independent. I’m not held to the rules set forth by old processes and those driving them. Therefore, I have the ability to do things the way that I want to do them. I take all responsibility for poor grammar or broken writing rules that I do not know I’ve broken. I never claimed to be a literary genius. What I do claim to be is a storyteller. My goal is to help others escape from their daily life pressures and find some enjoyment at the end of a hard day. And with a handful of negative reviews about my writing style or lack of, there have been numerous comments about how much my story was enjoyed. So I guess I must have done something right and that’s all that matters to me.

I have taken on writing as a hobby. Everything I do is on my own and with the help of other indie folks (editors/graphics). I’m as indie as indie gets.

So what does this mean? It means that after countless edits on my novella, “Beautiful People”, I have come to the realization that there can be a thing as too much editing. I am always working to improve my craft and I do pay attention – sometimes too much – to comments that I have received. I have made edits that I have gone back and erased because as I re-read tem, it didn’t ‘feel’ right. It was at this point that I came to the conclusion that my story was ready to go. Whatever additional edits I could make have become more of a detractor than an enhancement to the story.

Grabbing hold of my indie spirit and regaining my confidence, I’m ready to take the plunge release my baby to the world. I hope to release “Beautiful People” this summer/fall as it takes a considerable amount of time to working out the kinks before posting a story. I hope others find the read an enjoyable one – now I’m off to work on my next project!

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