editing – Page 3 – Welcome to Bridgetown

The waiting is the hardest part... — *The waiting is the hardest part…*

On the plus side, I am ecstatic that I was able to get this all done well under deadline — and almost a full week early at that. I can calm my nerves a bit, catch my breath. Maybe pick up some of the other minor projects that fell by the wayside. Relax, play a few games of FreeCell, goof off with my mp3 collection for a bit.

Or, y’know, I can spend my time figuring out how the heck I’m going to promote the book. There’s always that. I’ve already made a few strides on that.

Or start working on the Final Edit and cover for The Persistence of Memories. It’s a toss-up.

Seriously, right now I feel guilty for taking a break. I’ve put so much energy and time into getting ADoS out on time that I’m not quite sure what to do with myself. Part of me is still wound up and wants to jump headlong into editing the next book (which probably won’t be available for at least a few months at most anyway). There’s also the voice in the back of my head quietly reminding me that I still have to continue work on the new Mendaihu book, because it ain’t gonna finish itself. And lastly, there’s the voice of reason humbly requesting that I take a break for once in my damn life an not feel guilty about it.

And lastly, I have fifteen days before the drop date of 3 September, in which I have to resist temptation to edit the book even more, even though technically it’s out of my hands now.

All I can really do is wait at this point.

[NOTE: For those playing along, yes, I would totally want Fleur & Manu, the directors of this video, to direct the film version of the book.]

Yeah, I know. The author really shouldn’t be the editor of their own work, for many reasons. We’re so deeply entrenched in our own stories that when it comes time to edit the story, it’s often hard (if not impossible) for us to detach ourselves.

Yes, I’m familiar with Arthur Quiller-Couch’s “murder your darlings” maxim. But I’ve never been a big fan of the pithy writing quote (Ray Bradbury is an exception), so I usually tend to respond to those with a “yes, that’s nice” and move on.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not an auteur or an artiste in that respect. I’m totally open to comments and suggestions from beta readers, and I’m perfectly willing to delete something that is in dire need of deletion.

This current editing session, which I’ve been referring to as the Final Line Edit, has been fast and furious. I’ve deleted dozens of weak lines, removed filler dialogue, reworded sentences to make them shorter and stronger, and rearranged paragraphs to maximize the flow. I’ve used the Find feature a handful of times to fix continuity. This is how I work when I actually give myself a strict deadline with a specific date: I get my ass in gear. The “I’ll fix it later” becomes “let’s fix this now”. I become super-vigilant about anything that doesn’t feel right, and think of a way to make it better. I’m about halfway through this edit, and I’m already seeing progress. I’ve lost at least ten pages worth of chaff, and I’ll probably see another ten disappear by the time I’m done.

[The irony is that I was hopeless at deadlines during my school days. My essays and term papers were decent but always late. Go figure.]

So what have I learned this time out?

I’ve learned that self-editing can be done, if you’re up to it, know how to do it, and give yourself a plan of attack. I’ve kinda-sorta cheated because I’ve reread the entire trilogy enough times that I’ve lost count. It’s made me become ever so slightly detached from the story, becoming more its Reader than its Author. And the more I read it, I become less its Reader than its Editor. I can now see it with enough detachment that I can clearly see what needs work and what doesn’t.

That’s the trickiest part. Does this mean I’ll never enjoy my own writing? Far from it — just last night I just passed one of my favorite scenes and still got chills. I was amazed that I had written this! Me, the goofball who often trips up on his own words as he’s talking and gets brainfarts when trying to think of a word or a name. And that’s when I realized I was doing it right, at least in my own haphazard but ultimately successful way.

I’m sure I’ll have a lot more to say about this, but alas, I have editing to do before night falls!

Tag: editing

Adventures in Self-Publishing: Waiting for the Drop Date

Adventures in Self-Publishing: Editing