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The “E” Word
By JK Coi
No matter what you write, whether it’s a manuscript or a grocery list, editing will eventually be a part of it. (Yes, I’ve had to scratch out the word “cookies” from my grocery list too many times, although I can’t quite bring myself to add “carrots” in its place)
It’s a fact of life for authors that writing = re-writing. But I tell myself that editing shouldn’t be looked at with fear or as a chore, but the opportunity to catch mistakes (because, let’s face it, they’re ALWAYS there) and to make my work even better.
Even before I send a book to my editor, I’ve done my own round of edits, hopefully to make her job easier (or at least this is what I tell myself. The swearing and cursing that comes through the internet lines after she opens the file tell a different story).
I tackle edits in three waves. The first wave occurs during the writing process of the first draft. As much as I’d like to tell you I simply sit down and start clacking away at the keyboard, that the magic of my own mind takes me away and I don’t look back until it’s all done…that’s not the way it goes. I’m editing as I go. Not extensively, but enough to tweak and fine-tune my words. It helps in the long run to make sure my next pass isn’t quite so extensive.
The second wave is my way of looking at content and depth. This is where I will strengthen the emotional conflicts and hopefully weed out inconsistencies of plot. (Note that these inconsistencies invariably drive me CRAZY. I can spend HOURS looking up lore and fairytales about goblins and ghouls and as many other scary creatures as I can, and researching the cities and towns I have dropped my characters into—you’d think I would have learned by now to write about a place that I’ve actually been to!) However, this reminds me: I do a lot of my research when the book is already done. There are usually tons of placeholders in my manuscript with square brackets around them that look something like this: [DETAILS OF SUPER-COOL VAMPIRE POWERS] or [CASSIEL IS THE ANGEL OF SOLITUDE AND TEARS—WHAT THE HELL DOES THIS MEAN?]. Anyway, if I spent all my time with these niggly little details BEFORE I started writing the book, it would never get finished!
Anyway, once I’ve lost a week of sleep and finally combed through the manuscript for this second wave, I will send the book to my critique partners. Tip: Biting fingernails, inhaling chocolate, and staring at the empty email inbox for hours waiting for a response is not a good use of your time. The thing I try to remember when my critique partners and beta readers get a hold of my book is that their comments will mostly be suggestions based on their own style and personal preferences. So the third wave starts once I’ve looked over all the suggestions that were made and decide what I’m going to do with them, but honestly, I hardly ever make all the changes that are suggested. It isn’t that I don’t trust their judgement or respect their opinion, but I also have to keep my own vision for the book. I find if I let too many people tell me to change this and change that, my voice gets muffled and the writing loses its strength.
Finally, after three passes or “waves” of editing, I hopefully have a worthy manuscript to send to my editor…and the editing begins again!
For the readers, how much does bad editing bother you when you’re reading a book? Can you overlook some spelling and grammar errors when the story is compelling, or do you want to grind your teeth at every instance of their when it should have been there?
For the other writers out there, how many passes does it take before you consider your book good to go? Do you have a tried and true process?
After a life filled with tragedy, rocker Gabriel Gunn thinks he’s finally getting the better of his personal demons. Then he’s attacked after a concert—and rescued by a warrior goddess brandishing a sword and white wings. As hard as it is to believe in an angelic bodyguard, Gabriel must face an even more impossible truth: he carries the devil’s soul within him.
Amelia has been watching over Gabriel for years, using her angelic powers to prevent Lucifer’s return. Now she must also protect him from warring angel factions with their own agendas. Amelia would do anything to avert another angelic war, even sacrifice her own emotions to avoid temptation. Yet with Gabriel she feels things she no longer wants to deny, and pleasure she never imagined.
But the closer Gabriel and Amelia get, the stronger Lucifer becomes. Will Amelia be forced to kill the man she’s come to love to stop the war she’s always feared?
J.K. Coi is a multi-published, award winning author of contemporary and paranormal romance and urban fantasy. She makes her home in Ontario, Canada, with her husband and son and a feisty black cat who is the uncontested head of the household. While she spends her days immersed in the litigious world of insurance law, she is very happy to spend her nights writing dark and sexy characters who leap off the page and into readers’ hearts.
Website: www.jkcoi.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/jkcoi
As a reader, I can handle a handful of grammar or spelling issues IF the storyline is solid. I’m much more likely to shut a book and walk away if there are meandering plots or flat characters. (Actually, those last two would make me walk away even if the spelling is perfect…)
Thanks for sharing your editing process! The ideas of placeholders is interesting; I know I tend to get bogged down in my writing when I run into a detail of worldbuilding I hadn’t figured out yet, because I feel I have to sort it out before I go on…which might explain the quanitity of unfinished stories on my computer.
Happy release day!
Hmmm. Hard call–I agree with BJ who says flat characters and meandering plots are a dealbreaker, but I’m also a hardass about editing. *LOL* Of course, I haven’t published anything as large as a novel–perhaps if I do, I’ll be a lot more sympathetic about editing. A handful, I understand–and “there” vs “their” gets my sympathy more than if the wrong name is used in a scene. Suddenly you’re like, “Why is Sven in this scene? Ewww, why is she kissing her brother?”–that’s a bigger dealbreaker.
BJ: the placeholders are imperative. Sometimes you just can’t afford to interrupt the flow of writing to look something up or figure something out. You just have to keep moving, but at least then you can do a “Find” when you’re ready later for “[“ (square bracket) and Word will take you to everywhere you’ve inserted a placeholder.
Fran, I’m kind of anal about the niggly editing too. When it comes down to the final edit, I’ll be really nit-picky about things like word placement and sentence structure and will sometimes change a paragraph around 3 times just to say the same thing…the right way
If the characters rock, I can forgive just about anything. Suck me into the story, and I don’t care about spelling.
As a writer, I’m a pantser so my first draft is a lean rush write to the end. I don’t know what facts are important until the entire story is written. Then I go back and take out unimportant details and scenes, plus add setting and description. Mine is a crazy process, and I don’t recommend it to anyone but hey, it works for me!
Kimber, your process certainly does work for you. Partly because you’re so disciplined too!
“For the readers, how much does bad editing bother you when you’re reading a book? Can you overlook some spelling and grammar errors when the story is compelling, or do you want to grind your teeth at every instance of their when it should have been there?”
I’ll notice the spelling and grammar errors, but if the story is gripping, I’ll forgive each and every one. If the story is boring me, the errors are enough to make me discard the book.
Your too funny @ inhaling chocolate, losing a week of sleep and biting fingernails part. When it comes to editing, it can truly be a B.I.T.C…(shut ya mouf) But im just talking about editing baaaaaaaaybe’….
I leave editing to editors. But of course, doing a review myself is essential and necessary at this point and time as a writer. I usually get so caught up in my editing that i forget I’m not even finished with the story yet. This ever happen to you? It happens to me too often too many. But it’s a working progress.
P.S- I stumbled upon your profile via absolute write forums. Might want to add that to your traffic generation guarantees’!