Release Day...my journey through editing.

With less than 4 hours to release, I'm am sitting hunched over my computer, working on book 2, Starfire. In its own way, it is a much bigger story. I know, because I have learnt so much since writing Starline.

Anyway, I thought though it might be nice to get an insight in what happens once a book is finished being written (as in that really rough first draft on your computer.) Yeah, it may be written, but that is just the beginning of the tale.

So you have written a story. Fabulous. There is such a sense of accomplishment with that. So what do you do next?

For me, the next step is print it and walk away. Take at least a week, or if you can manage it, longer. Why? For me, it was purely a sense of being way too close to the story. I knew the story, deep in my bones. I could read and reread sentences without realising my spelling or grammar were wrong. Distance makes the heart grow fonder and blurs the edges of things you know. In writing it is the same. While the story is still sharp in your mind, every word, paragraph and scene stand out in sharp detail.

Go back to your manuscript and be hard. Given a week or longer, take one or more highlighters and go through. Highlight mistakes, grammar that doesn't read right. And read it out loud. Take your time, this baby of yours is precious. But it's still probably a pig in a poke if your write like me.

Once you have made changes, let someone else read it. And this is a really hard part. Don't pick family or friends who will tell you how nice it is. Sure that is great for the ego, but you need someone who is going to pick the thing to bits. Lots and Lots of bits. Trust me, this is the hard part of editing before you submit. Find someone who has good english skills and will be brutally honest with you.

Now what? You're going to feel either blue or bouyant. Be kind to yourself. Make the corrections if they feel right. If they don't, work out why you don't think they should happen. Be critical and honest about your work. If you are lucky and you can find a group of people who can critique for you, let them. A good Crit Partner will be honest but also supportive. :) (I know my main crit partner is!)

Let them read the corrected version. Talk to them about why you are making changes or not. Now here's the rub, though. Not every written work is fabulous. An excellent critique partner will tell you to your face if it's rot - nicely and kindly, but will let you know. We all need one of them. Oh, and this step may get repeated several times before you are happy. It's the old rinse and repeat cycle :)

Finally happy? Phew! Then you get to look around for publishing houses that are a good fit for your writing. You might like to consider entering a couple of competitions before taking this step though. The feedback is invaluable, I have found. It put me on the road to where I am now.

If you do, be prepared for honest reviews. Not everything is nice and palatable, but most judges are writers who have been in your position. They offer feedback, not to be negatively critical, but to help you become the writer you could be. Honestly, I can't stress this enough.

So you entered competitions, found a publisher and think they are a good fit. You send in your submission, checking that you have your synopsis, letter and manuscript attached, having followed their requirements to the absolute letter, down to the name of the manuscript file. You wait, and wait some more. You check your emails, and find...a rejection. Okay. This is part of the life of an author. Not every book will fit every publishing house. And you know what? That's okay. Some will give you excellent personalised feedback and others will say that they don't do that. Each house handles it in their own way.

Important tip. Accept their decisions. Your book may be a King Blockbuster in the waiting. You may know that in your bones, but if they don't accept it, arguing won't make them think of it any more kindly.

Once you find the right place for your book, then you get to edit it again. This is hard, because your editor will be looking at it critically. Not because they are awful. They want you to have the book as strong as possible before sending it off into the world. Some houses do more editing than others. You may have 2 rounds, you may have 5 or 6. (And this is really hard, because you will have a deadline to complete the edits by.)

Finally, the final edit is in, you get your final copies to check and send back. Take your time! Check thoroughly and when you are happy return it. Now sit back and wait. Slowly.

Really. Hard.

This is me. I'm waiting. But you know what? In less than 4 hours my baby will be out in the world.

Writing is hard. It's exhausting and at times even lonely. But you know what? I can't think of too much else I would rather be doing.

Imogene