An Underestimation

My goodness i have totally underestimated how long it would take me to edit Secrets and Lies! I am less than a quarter through the first draft with my edit and it has taken almost 5 months.

I have read through the whole document on my kindle - so i couldn't tweak as i went! - and highlighted areas that needed deleting, errors, rewording, layering etc.
The process of going back through and editing those notes has taken longer, i know from all the research i have done to set the story in 1144 in the Outer Hebrides.
I am really enjoying this process but it is taking so long! I really fear that my story will not be any where near finished for either sending to publishers or self publishing by year end....

Working 4 days a week and being a busy mum really does take a lot of time and i take my hat off to those published mums out there! this process is taking a long time as i'm only opening my document once or twice a week, but i find i am exhausted from stimulating toddlers all day and then doing mum and housewife stuff when i get home!
While my house is looking very untidy and housework is slipping i find it hard/guilty to sit down and edit.
Does anyone else have this dilemma?

How do you balance writing time with family/housework duties?

Writing Tip: Cutting extraneous words during editing

I know i will be up to this part of editing soon. (Well probably a month or two away)

Rachel Gardiner recommends that before submitting or publishing your manuscript it could be in your best interest to do another round of edits and cut 10 words per page.

How?

Look for -ly words. Are they necessary?
So too for -ing words

cut out passive voice - 'was', 'were' and 'that'

shorten description

shorten internal monologue or show thoughts and feelings through dialogue or action.

repetitive telling what the reader already knows.

And, carefully considering a big list of overused words:
about, actually, almost, like, appears, approximately, basically, close to, even, eventually, exactly, finally, just, just then, kind of, nearly, practically, really, seems, simply, somehow, somewhat, sort of, suddenly, truly, utterly, were.


I don't know what my overused words are - well, actually i think i use 'hoped' too much!

What are your best editing tips, or overused words?

Research and Editing

Over the past few weeks i have been doing lots of research for my early medieval period story, Secrets and Lies.
As i am editing this draft and inserting bits of history and solid facts about the place and time, i am finding this story becoming so much richer!
This editing is made easier by the notes i took as i read through it on my kindle. I am moving through this quite fast - though not as fast as i would like (i am not a writer full-time!).

What have you found that has made your editing easier?

Editing

So a few posts ago i asked for help with Editing. Where to start?

One of my writer friends suggested i load my story to my kindle to have a read through first, looking for flow and any major mistakes/flow problems. This is working a treat. I have noted about 170 parts that need either tiny tweaks or major rewrite or even deletion and i'm only 3/4 of the way through!

Another writer suggested i scrap the whole first draft and start again! Apparently this worked wonders for her story. I for one, am too afraid to! But after doing lots of research for 'when' and 'where' i'm going to set my story (it is currently in fantasy land!), i'm going to try and majorly edit to fit and failing that - *gulp* - i'll start over!

Another writer, Jackie Ashendon replied with the following:

Good question. Okay, what I do is first read over the whole thing before I do anything. Then I always do the big things first - characters and conflict since both drive the plot. Are your characters consistent? Does the internal conflict work? Have you gone deep enough with it? Are their motivations clear? Have the h/h got clearly defined character arcs?

Once you're good with that, then look at each scene. Do the scenes move the plot/conflict along or are they just filler? Or do you need to add more, etc, etc.

After I do that kind of stuff, then POV fixes, language, grammar etc is next and that's usually the easy fixes. I know some people advise doing the small things first but there's kind of no point fixing POV in a scene if you actually don't need the scene at all.

I think a combination of all this makes sense to me.
I've already noticed that my hero's GMC is seriously lacking - so that will be the first thing i work on, Oh and he seriously needs to alpha up! I can't believe i wrote him so wussy!
Then i'll take a deeper look at my heroine's GMC - just to make sure my h&h clash and meld with the right things!

So thanks for the advice everyone, i feel i am better equipped at tackling this edit :)

Does anyone approach their edits differently?

Editing, and I need YOU!

So, i am editing my first ever story Secrets & Lies.
I wrote this story in 2008 starting when my daughter was 6 weeks old. It took me a year.
When i finished it my dad printed and bound it. It hadn't been edited, it was very rough. Everyone who read it said it's a great story.
I read back over it about a month after i'd finished and well, it needed a lot of work!
I was really bad with head hopping! one sentence was in the heroines head, the next from the hero's father etc :S
So, five years later i am editing it.

I have started with the first 6 chapters, deleting head hopping, making scenes in one person's POV.
Upping the tension by deleting all the obvious 'hints' to character's backgrounds.
And, i have done research. When i wrote it, i created a fantasy land in an unknown time. It was easier to create my story. Now i want to solidify it, ground it somehow, and i have chosen a place in the Hebrides, in around 1100 AD.
So lots of research, about clothes, food, names, travel etc etc..

So my question for you writers, both published and unpublished. What do you tackle first on your first edit through?
POV?
Inserting place names and history?
Changing some of the plot line? Character motivation?

There seems so much to do, i am a bit overwhelmed where to start!! So your help is greatly appreciated!

Editing. There're 3 types?

If, like me you have no idea of all the different types of editing that a book goes through before being published, i found this post from Rachel Gardener.
It has information on Revisions, or Content Edit.
Copy Edit
and Line editing.

Ok, i've heard of all of them just didn't know all the nitty gritty involved. Did you? No?
Go and have a read!

Editing Rules

I may not be writing at the moment, but i am following everyone. And, i have been thinking about writing again so that is a positive step!
My headaches are stacks better, i think mostly due to the 3x per week visit to the chiropractor, but it could be because of the new medication too :)

Nathan Bransford has a wonderful post on his blog about editing commandments. Editing someone else's book that is! Have a read, it is very good to be reminded if you already knew them and good reading if you didn't.

Happy writing everyone!

Editing - love it or hate it?

Found this wonderful blog post in my inbox yesterday and it puts a whole new spin on editing, and loving it!

Check it out here!

Thanks Larry Brooks for letting Therese share this with us :)

Giving it another go!

So, despite getting that form R from SYTYCW, i am charging ahead and editing Billie and Cooper's story to try and make it "stronger". I may even consider either submitting it to Embrace Books, or Carina Press, two ebook publishers for consideration.
Or do as my friend Nicole did, and upload it to Amazon.

I just can't let this story go, and would love to have it out there for all to read!
Do you think i should just give it up?
I am working on two other ideas as well, so it's not like it's the only story in my gambit.

What would you do?

I've finished my draft!

Yay, i wrote the final words for Billie and Cooper's HEA yesterday!

It's a bit under 50,000 but i'm sure this will come up with edits and rewrites. I'm actually looking forward to this part, i have something to work with as opposed to having a blank screen for the what happens next!

Well, i'm going to draft my synopsis - yes you can shudder! - and get the first chapter polished, because i think it needs tweaking even though i had polished it already for the NV comp!
Then sub, Ahh!

Any advice or encouragement for the editing and rewrite stage, even the synopsis is greatly appreciated!

Nano is awesome for encouraging you to write - i've written the most in two weeks that i have EVER written. Bring on next year!

Editing is essential for good writing

Editing, believe it or not is fun.
It polishes our writing until it is perfect for the market we are writing, or even just perfect for you.
You can't be afraid to delete what doesn't work, what takes too long to say even if you think it is your best work. This is ego. Many writing gurus have used the phrase "murder your darlings". These are the bits you are particularly proud of. It may be hard but it is worth it in the long run.
Guaranteed these "darlings" don't fit the writing and it will save time (and pain) when you are asked or requested to delete it from an editor or publisher, or even a reader may not get it.
By doing this we grow as writers. Editing helps to polish and give us the best our readers can get.
Rob Parnell just wrote an excellent article called How Does your Writing Grow? i would recommend you read it. But pertinent for editing is the part:

You have to make writing 'work'. And if you're reworking material, don't just fix things, rethink the whole piece. Take onboard the suggestions, yes, but also be mindful of the entire package. Do the suggestions change the way the writing works? Do you have to approach the manuscript again - and make it work, again?

If so, don't be afraid to do that.

Rob Parnell

My novel is currently undergoing a re-write. I am taking on board my readers advice and the advice i have received from Rob, and where sometimes it is hard to "murder my darlings" i can see how it works to make my writing work and make it better.

Good luck!

Edit, edit, edit

Well after six months of mulling my novel over in my head i am back to editing it. Or should i say re-working it.
Based on what readers have commented and the advice from Rob Parnell - which is invaluable by the way! - i am re-writing my novel.

I thought i would hate this part, but it is actually really nice to re-visit my hero and heroine and tighten their story. Other characters are popping out for possible sequels as well as demanding to have more of a part to play in Gabrielle and Wayne's story.

I have decided to change the ending as well. After contemplating the impact of the original ending i have decided it would be more dramatic and fulfilling to make a change. Sorry can't divulge how i'm changing it, you will have to buy it once i have it finished!

Editing can be boring but if you think of it as a re-visit and polish you find yourself enjoying it, especially if you do it in small amounts, like a chapter a day.
Already i am finding i am enjoying the story more with the changes and hopefully it will be more successful when i submit to agents and/or publishers.

Kerrin Hearfield

Editing

Edit, edit, edit. I think i have had just about enough of editing. This is my second in-depth edit of S&L and i have only 3 chapters to go.
It is going to be relief to have that finished. How i dread the prospect of possibly having to do another one if i am successful with submissions.

But then there is the added advantage of having a fresh opinion on a turn of phrase or paragraph that i may not have gotten quite right. And those same fresh eyes will see errors that even the most careful edit can't see when it is yours.

Of course there is the point that i do want it perfect in the event it gets to print. There would be nothing worse than picking up a freshly published novel and finding an error greater than a spelling error (You still find those even in your favourite authors new book!). Edit, edit, edit until it is the best it could possibly be.
Remember too, you don't have to take on the opinion or suggestions of an editor, it is your own work and you have final say.

Do something different

I found that i wasn't getting very far with my final edit. I only have 12 chapters to go and have made little progress this week. For something different i asked my husband to show me how to mow the lawns. It was quite refreshing doing something different that when i sat down to do some editing i whizzed through five chapters!
I fully recommend doing something completely un-writing related to get the juices flowing again. And my husband was really thankful too.