Thursday, December 12, 2013

Submitting #3 - The dreaded edits

This is a step that all authors, no matter their claim to fame, get to do on their books. It has a number of purposes, the main one being that you've stared at your work for so long you can no longer see anything but the world you've created. Again, this is true of all authors out there from beginner to professional.

A few things to know about the editing process:

The Editor - You will either love or absolutely despise your editor. What they say about love-hate relationships are most true about this person. This person or persons has read your story and now they have begun to pick it apart. That first time you get edits is exciting and terrifying, you have no idea what to expect or what may have happened to your story all because of this one person, or in some cases, multiple people.

Edits - These are corrections to grammar, punctuation and general layout that you missed or just didn't know how to do. There will be things like bubbles in your edited work with comments in them. Depending on the editor and your genre these can be anything from helpful to devastating comments. We all pray for a smooth edit with the editor making cute comments and saying wonderful things. Sadly, more than not, this does not occur. Some editors are animals out to rend your flesh from bone until you are a pile of pulverised goo on the floor.

The Process - Each publisher and their editors have their own way of doing things. There is usually a FAQ page or something like it to help you understand their "house standards". Not that will always help you figure out what the editors are talking about but it is a general guide for you to better understand some of their comments. Your editor will read your story, start to finish and, generally, make punctuation changes in the document itself without much mention to you about them unless it screws up the construction of a sentence/paragraph in which case they will generally give you a solution - especially when you are new. It will be along the lines of "This may confuse readers as it is, why not something like this... or perhaps this instead...". Take such help to heart and work to understand just why they are telling you this and how their suggestions make the sentence/paragraph flow better and are more comprehensive to a possible reader. They are helping you to grow, use them for such.

Second Round - Not all publishers do a second or third round of edits. It's kind of a crap shoot which publisher you will end up with so ensure you know going in just how many chances to fix things you will get. Some only do one round, better make it count. But, if you do get a second or third round, in a lot of cases you will have a separate editor than your first. This person may have a different view on your story and on the publisher "house standards", learn to go with the flow on this, you're merely the author and these people are educated in the art craft that is the English language.

Most authors have trouble with punctuation, it's just a fact of life. Even if you majored in English and took writing classes and all that to ensure you craft a perfect story, your editor will pick that shit apart until you want to tear your hair from your head. Or plot the perfect crime with them in a staring role. Either case is just bad for you, one leading to ulcers and the other to an orange jumpsuit. And really, orange was so 2007.

We all have to deal with editors and the editing process during our tenure's as published author's. Best to just suck it up and learn as much as you can from these people to limit the number of bubbles and comments on your work. You won't ever learn it all so don't try, but do listen to the advice they give, 95% of the time, it's actually damned helpful.

The Moderator

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