From #Bubble Cow I learned, and was overwhelmed by, the entire
editing/proofreading process. Gosh–o-mighty writers, look at this.
First you write the book, you throw your heart and soul into it.
It’s your baby. But, you wonder, will anyone want it? What if my baby is boring? It’s like home movies. They were our pictures.
We took them. Seeing them rekindles experiences of standing atop the pyramid at
Chichen Itza and looking out over the vast expanse of jungle and seeing the horizon,
a pencil line North to South as far as the eye can see. (Well, that was one picture.) Yet in our living room, (old days, projector
running) from out of the darkness comes outright snoring.
Well damn!
So, it’s back to the drawing board, or give those people some
coffee and chocolate. They didn’t come to your house to be inundated with your ruminating.
While I am out in the kitchen pouring coffee over chocolate ice cream, here are some tidbits on editing and proofreading you
can chew on.
First I know why a
professional writer looks so good.
THEY HAVE BEEN EDITED.
So, let’s look at the editing process:
Editing is the first step in the publication process, and the
focus is on structure rather than fixing every little typo.
The editor will look at three things:
- Structure
The way the book is written. For fiction it will be things like
showing not telling, narrative tension and pacing.
For nonfiction, it is more about examining your argument, making
it understandable, and making it easy to learn—if that’s what you are going
for.
- Flow
Flow is the way the book reads, the plot, how well your book fits
into its genre. Does it have glaring errors? Here, too, is fact- checking.
- Line Structure
This is a line by line assessment. The editor will look at your
sentence structure and make changes which they think will improve the book. They
will look at punctuation of dialogue, and the clearest way to phrase a sentence.
You can accept or reject these changes, so you still have some control.
You thought your book was ready to go to press right?
No, now comes the proofreading …
This removes spelling, grammatical and punctuation errors. The
proofreader will also ensure a level of consistency within your book.
Some proofreading services such as Bubble Cow, will read your
book twice. On the first read, the proof reader will correct errors and add
consistency. On the second read, the proofreader will make sure nothing was
missed and that the words convey the intended meaning. Proofreading should be
the final task before publication.
Now, if you have paid for these services go out and sell enough
books to cover the expense.
Oh, I don’t mean to be discouraging. You won’t be. You will take advice or not, for I know about writers. You write because it is your
passion. All the rules, restrictions and rejections that come your way will not
keep you you’re your appointed task, and that is to put words on the page.
Go for it!
