By:
Rachel E. Newman
When
I first realized my passion for editing, I had long recognized my love for
books and stories. During my adolescent years, I read voraciously; and by the
time I decided to pursue editing, I believed I could recognize a well-written
novel within a few sentences. Surely I would be a natural.
It
was with great anticipation I began my first editing fiction course. I still
remember that initial editing assignment. The paragraph had emotion; it had
character; it sounded so good. And then comments from my more experienced
classmates started rolling in. The excerpt had problems with repetitive
language, shallow point of view, and unnecessary speaker attributions. Once it
had been edited and portions of it rewritten , the finished product was head and
shoulders above the original paragraph.
At
that point I realized just how much I needed to learn. And the process of
learning has been one of pure joy. Discovering how to communicate images and
ideas in a way that makes the text disappear and the story come alive has
opened a whole new avenue for connecting with people. And people, after all, is
what I’m about.
That’s
why I’d like to share some of what I’ve learned to help you polish your
manuscript and save money. Although self-editing does not eliminate your need
for a professional editor, it can cut down on the amount of time it takes to
complete a professional edit which in turn could save you lots of money. Even
the best editors will tell you that professional editors have their work
professionally edited.
Our
brains have the amazing capability to see what should be there
instead of what is there. We might read over a sentence fifteen times and never
realize it’s missing a the or contains a misspelled word. (I
must have read that last sentence at least eight times before I realized I’d
left the s off “times.”) That’s why it’s so important to have
a fresh pair of eyes do that final edit.
There
are many changes you can make, though, before you submit your manuscript to an
editor. Keep in mind that while writing your first draft you shouldn’t concern
yourself with editing. Editing and writing use different parts of your brain,
and you don’t need the distraction editing will cause while you are emptying
your creative genius onto your keyboard. But once you’ve got that first tornado
of a story down, it’s time to start looking at it critically. What works and
what doesn’t?
One
of the first set of questions to ask yourself is:
. .
.
Read the full article HERE!
~*~
If you
missed my writing & marketing tweets and retweets yesterday, here they are
again:
- Fiction University: Day Seven: Focus the Narrative Drive http://ow.ly/K3vGy
- Productivity Tips for the Scattered Writer - Elizabeth Spann Craig http://ow.ly/K3vJl
- How to Survive a Publishing Trend Cycle, Part 1 - Rock Your Writing http://ow.ly/K3vLt
- Clumsy dialogue – your mission statement for a subtle scene | Nail Your Novel http://ow.ly/K3vO3
- How To Build A Top-Notch Media Kit | Molly Greene: Writer http://ow.ly/K3vRx
- Finding a Good Editor, Talent Vs. Training, and Writing Banter | Lindsay Buroker http://ow.ly/K3vXK
- A Weird Way to Beat Writer’s Block http://ow.ly/K3w3y
- Why You Should Steal Content http://ow.ly/K3w6B “Good artists borrow, great artists steal” – Picasso
- Marketing
Strategy - B2B Inbound Marketing Snapshot: Top Goals, Tactics, and Challenges
: MarketingProfs Article http://ow.ly/K3w9J - 7 Step Content Creation Strategy for Epic Content Marketing http://ow.ly/K3wdx
- Book Trailers And Using Video For Book Marketing | The Creative Penn http://ow.ly/K3wfZ
- What Authors Can Learn From Startups | Jane Friedman http://ow.ly/K3wiJ
- Infographic: 6 Rules For Managing Your Business's Facebook Page | Fast Company | Business + Innovation http://ow.ly/K3yoA
Writability : Pitch Tip: Make Your Stakes Personal http://ow.ly/K3ypS- Navigating a Big Writer's Conference--What's Best to Do, What Do You Bring, How to Make the Most of Your Time & Money http://ow.ly/K3yrC
- Whose Story Is It? Self-Editing for Point of View by Rachel E. Newman — The Book Designer http://ow.ly/K3yCa
- Alexandra Sokoloff: Rewriting: Something has to happen http://ow.ly/K3z7l
Mythcreants » Creating a Memorable Climax for Your Campaign http://ow.ly/K3z9q- Why You Need an Online Portfolio; Yes, You! http://ow.ly/K3zbk
- The Dreaded Sagging Middle | The Violet Femmes http://ow.ly/K3zeI
Anakina . blog: Giveaway and mailing list: how to take care of your readers http://ow.ly/K3zg4
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