Editing, editing, editing…

If there is one thing that will tire your brain out after seven straight hours, it’s editing. I am to the point of nit picking at absolutely every single minor detail, and it is starting to drive me crazy. I might be better off just letting it go as is, but I can’t really do that. I am on my third draft of my first book and I can’t really justify just going with it right now because I am finding teeny tiny errors.

Bottom line, my first manuscript and I have had a relationship for over a year now. It’s time to break up. Its been long, hard, and even though we had some great times, especially in the beginning, our relationship must come to an end soon.

I would love to hire a copy editor to help me out. I really would. But as of this moment, I am counting on my years and years of professional English tutelage for my edits. I want an editor, I would kill for one. I just can’t afford it. And all the ones worth having are booked weeks or months out. Bottom line, if I get too many reviews back saying that it is littered with grammatical errors, I will pull it and edit it again. No other option at this point. I have read a ton of blogs that say, “Well, if you don’t get it copy edited, then you really don’t care about your work.” Uh, BULLSHIT!! I just can’t shovel out $300-$1000 right now. I just plain don’t have the money. I am trying to get my own place, and I need ever single spare dime in the couch right now. I also have student loans riding my back. So whatever asshole came up with the idea that you are not a real writer, or you don’t care about the outcome of your story if you don’t get a copy editor or some nonsense like that, is on my shit list!! I was the one in school that all the foreign kids came to for help  on editing their papers into English, so don’t give me that crap! (Okay, rant done).

In good news, I did buy my cover (the only thing that I afford at this time as it was only $30).  The cover art is so gorgeous and it fits my story beautifully. It’s mystical, magical and ahhh-mazing! I almost started crying when I first saw it with my book title and my name on it. I can’t wait to see it up on the Kindle website.

I have been thinking a lot lately on how other writers/authors work. i have read about so many ebook authors who literally write a full length novel in a month or a couple of weeks. Some people can do that brilliantly, others, not so much. Given my home life right now, that is not really a feasible option. I managed to finish my previous book in two months and that was really pushing it for me. I hear about authors like Stephen King or some such famous person that writes 10,000 words a day no matter what. But my question is, is this kind of work conducive to great writing? Or is it just get as much material out there as soon as possible? I have never known anyone who can write that much and not have it read like word upchuck. It might get the story knocked out, but eventually reviews will pour in about the low quality of the writing.

I usually try for 4,000 words a day when I am writing a book. That has always seemed like a fair and perfectly obtainable goal. Does anyone else have a particular work count that they strive for?