I am glad you can join us for week 10 – MFRW 52-week Blog Challenge
This week’s topic is Editing – love it or hate it?
As a writer, editing is extremely important. It can make or break an author’s career. If a reader buys a badly edited book they probably won’t want to buy another. I mean who wants to waste money on something full of typos or go to reading a story when the names change all the time, or oops I just fell into a big loophole? So though it is no picnic and a great expense it is a necessity that should not be avoided. And no. even if you are an editor, or think you have the skills since you majored in English etc… never edit your own books. You need fresh eyes to find the things you won’t see as you are vested in it as it is.
Is it fun having a stranger poking around in your stories and telling you, hey this doesn’t work, or you need to take some of this out you say it over and over in different ways, or you need to add this or that? Nope. Do you have to agree and take every suggestion? Nope. Should you? I say if you really don’t agree to have your beta look at the note and see what they think… again sometimes it takes fresh eyes to see things you can’t. Having said that, and editor should fit your style and work with you and not try to change your writing style or story idea. If you just don’t see eye to eye I suggest a new editor.
Now as a reader…I answer the question again. Yes, hopefully, the author dealt with it and had the book edited. I get some ARC as I am a reviewer and I cringe at times praying that the author is in the process of some very deep edits or at least proofreading. I myself don’t count off for grammar but I absolutely hate the old name change switcharoo wherein one line it is MC 1 then MC two is talking but called by MC1 name and this is much more common than you think… or one of their names change completely in the book for the duration… (please double-check of you use the replace mode in WORD and a good beta will help here too.
SO yes… Editing is like a jeweler of writing. They polish the raw gem into something we can treasure.
How do you feel about editing? Let’s go see what the others in the hop think!
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6 responses to “Shining the Diamond #MFRWauthor #editing #bloghop”
I ALWAYS struggle with edits/revision. Wasn’t it perfect as I first wrote it??? Give me a blank page any day over pages to edit/revise. And yet, I do know that the polishing is where the gem is revealed. But, man, it’s hard for me to get excited about it. Your attitude is soooo good! Only one of the many things I find admirable about you and your writing!
Thank you for the sweet words
Great title for this post, Cathy. My edits just came back, and it seems in each book, I have found a word to use too much. I mean TOO much. This time it was squeeze. Haha. I didn’t notice, but she sure did. Thankfully! Good advice in your post.
lol thank you. Yeah I use too many words too much. It is funny to see what overused ones lol.
Looking at editing from the readers’ perspective is a good idea! A polished gem is what they want. Certainly not my first efforts. Like you and Mary said, sometimes I find the perfect word to use for a particular point. Then–without realizing it–I find that if that word is good once, it’s even better used 10 times! Editing is good.
Well said. and I have a bad habit of saying but and so. LOl.