I just finished reading the proof copy of Dead Hungry. After...

I just finished reading the proof copy of Dead Hungry.  After going through so many revisions, I wasn’t expecting much in terms of final edits, and I’m happy to report there were only two typos and three weird formatting issues.

Seeing the text on the printed page gave me a new perspective.  It gave me a better sense of the visual flow of the text.  Because the eye travels across and down the page, how the text is laid out does affect the reader.  Scenes that have more intensity tend to have denser text, which slows down the eye, while dialogue is quicker to read.  Choosing the layout of a scene has as much to do with language as the visual design of the page.

So, hopefully trimming some sentences here and there will put the final touches on the pace.

It’s also quite a thrill to hold the physical copy of the book.  I get a sense that it is nearing completion and is ready to be launched.

I’ve been using that expression a lot lately:  launching the book.  Given that it’ll be out of my hands, it does feel like a satellite entering orbit.  Hopefully, it will have a long-lasting trajectory and not crash land in the middle of the ocean somewhere.

When it’s available, I will post the links.