Time’s flying by and I’m editing each and every day. Impatience in its present format has blown out the page count. I recently adjusted the page layout to reflect the industry standard of larger margins on both sides sufficient for handwritten comments. At 120,000 words, the manuscript is hovering around 480 pages. I’ve completed my mark-up on 95 pages and to date applied the first 70 odd of these to the master document. With 385 pages to go, it’s fair to say I won’t exactly be finishing my edit anytime soon. Such is life!
To be specific, in this revision cycle I’m aiming to achieve a few key objectives:
Continuity – Some sections are loosely constructed and require tightening of the text. I have entire sub plots, while interesting, don’t really have a direct effect on my set of core characters. Down the virtual hole they go! 120K is a bit fat for a first novel anyway and I’m aiming to end up around 90K once done.
Grammar – As I wrote this book in 2009 I still didn’t really have my head around some of the core grammatical concepts. I should probably be embarrassed or something about this but it is simply the truth. Too many years away from school and the technical rules of good writing. I’ve learnt a lot over the last few years and I’m applying line edits to address these issues. Fresh eyes highlight so many issues I had never seen before.
Characters – I’m adding little snippets of character depth and more introspection as this is clearly lacking in the current version. I’m giving the characters more chance to shine and also to express their emotions.
So there you go, I’m focused on a few specific factors, not trying to stretch too far while ensuring what I do achieve is a defined set of improvements. I have pages and pages of feedback from my initial alpha readers to absorb and apply where relevant. You all know who you are. Thanks each and every one of you as your advice has been fantastic.
I’ve also recently researched the option of engaging a professional editor and or manuscript appraisal service. This might be something I do once I churn through and yes I’m slogging through a churning process, where time is directly proportional to pages processed, pure maths really. Anyway once I get through the remaining 385 pages, paying a nominal fee for some professional guidance is probably a wise next step.
I certainly am not arrogant enough to believe my developing editing skills are sufficient to make my work presentable as a saleable product. I simply don’t have the experience to be able to do so at this stage.
For now it’s all about finding windows of time to do my thing and sticking with it. I’m feeling much more positive about Impatience as I chisel away at the rough stone, my draft version, to produce something far better than my initial effort. It feels right and justified to do so as if I’m doing justice to my characters and the story. Hard to explain in a way and yet those who know the story continue to tell me it has merit and to go for it!
Interestingly the intuitive creative part of me is still working away in the background. I keep producing new concepts to work with. Occasionally I’m writing some of these down for future projects. I recently had a solid idea appear out of the blue for part 2 of The Healing Truth. I love it when that happens. I get excited at the prospect of writing this, once the churn is over, definitely not before.
One thing’s for sure, all this work whether writing or editing is improving my skills and that is priceless…
J.
