This is kind of a Bonus Blog entry. I just got The Observers
– A Science Fiction Odyssey, back from my Editor, Joe, at KoehlerBooks. Before I jump into this "almost final edit" of that book, which will be released in December of this year, I thought I pass on a few thoughts about the editing process.
After reading through the proof copy of RIFTS – A Science
Fiction Thriller, I was doing my final edit. I remembered reading something I
wanted to change, but hadn’t marked it. That’s not a good idea. I think that’s
one major reason God created sticky notes.
I really didn’t
want to skim the whole second section of the book. I did remember that the word be was associated with
the paragraph I was looking for—I have no idea why.
So, I did a search for the word be.
I was careful to put a space in front of the b
and another space after the e because I
wanted only the word be, not belong, because, amber, adobe, or any other iteration of a word with be in it.
What I got was.
1. A
long list.
But, also
2. A way to find other oddities in the text that
required editing.
I found out that by reading the text around the word be provided
me with a completely unbiased view of the text. That brought typos, comma use
errors, and grammatical faux pas into literally immediate focus because I wasn’t reading the story then.
Did I catch all the glitches in the manuscript by this
stroke of genius luck?
Nope. But the manuscript that was
printed as RIFTS is the most error free
of any of the books I’ve published or had published.
Be daring. Try
it. You’ll like it. Because it works!
I
have one more most excellent editing tip to share. But, I'd like some more. Any
tips I receive from my readers in an email from my website by MIDNIGHT THURSDAY
AUGUST 21, will be tested by me during my editing next week. The best of up to
9 of those will be included in a future blog titled, 10 More Editing
Ideas to Make Your Revisions Less Revolting.
Those suggestions included in MY list will be posted with
the sender’s initials.
In the meantime, if you are looking for a professional
editor/proofreader, I have a strong recommendation. Her name is Shelley Greene.
She provides feedback (good/bad) and suggestions as well as helping with
wording, grammar, and typos.
Shelley’s email is: evergreene91@gmail.com.
She is also on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shelley.greene.566.
She doesn’t work for free, but her rates are VERY competitive. You will be
glad you contacted her.
Next Blog: It
Takes a Strong Back and Spine To Be a Winning Cover
My website is: www.crdowning.com
No comments:
Post a Comment