Editing, as it turns out, is one of those processes that could go on indefinitely. It is, I fear, only the deadline that will bring the matter to an end.
And, of course, I had to go and make the process even longer by changing my mind mid-way through about what I wanted.
Something wasn’t working and I couldn’t put my finger on it. And then the answer came to me in a flash. Cue a rather large re-write which I’m currently in the process of. My editor is being very patient.
What’s my process?
Listening to my instincts. If something feels off, there’s no point in glossing over it, being lazy or pretending no one else will notice. Readers are sharp and they’ve given up their time to read my book. The very least I can do is give them the same courtesy and put time into editing. Tempting though it might be to tell myself I’m overthinking/the book doesn’t need these drastic edits/it’ll all be fine, I didn’t. And I think the book is going to be much better because of it.
How do I edit?
I have gone through my editor’s suggestions and then, using tracked changes, taken an axe to some portions and a quill to others.
I find my brain can’t process the novel in a Word document format, so I change it into that of a professional book (using Reedsy’s editor) and then go over it on my phone, scribbling down any notes in the margins. So far, I’ve done a lot of scribbling. I then go back into the Word document and make those changes.
At the moment, I’m especially looking to improve the flow and make the novel feel less like non-stop action and more like a cohesive story that won’t leave readers feeling like their brains have just been mangled.
When is the deadline?
11 March. Which isn’t very far away.
What’s left to do?
I’m going to finish up this round of reading the formatted book and then making edits. Then format it again with the new edits and read it another time. Then send back to Emma, my lovely editor.
Emma will go through what I’ve done, see if she agrees, make any tweaks to spelling and grammar and I’ve asked her particularly to make any suggestions about improving the flow.
What would your editing process would be? Have you any tips for me? I’d love to hear all about it in the comments.