Editing

Editing
So I have gotten beyond the rejection letters and the resubmit letters (J Hali Steel addresses this in her shared blog. at http://paranormalromantics.blogspot.com/ now comes the dreaded editing process.

I submit my ms after reading and changing it countless times. I have rewritten it if requested to do so. The ms looks great to me. I sit and wait for a response and it comes. A contract! A wonderful blessed contract! Happy dance. Over here at least I dance with my dog. I place her paws in my hands and dance around with her biting my hands the entire time.

So now I wait longer for the process to move forward. As I said before, I have read and reread my ms countless times. It has to be perfect. right? Wrong! I get my ms back from the editor that has been assigned to me. The subject line on the email alone scares the heck out of me. First Edits. Geez, I wonder, how many edits are going to be involved on something I thought was great looking in the first place.

With shaking fingers I open the attachment and what I see first thing, is a sea of red. Now maybe some of you authors don’t see this. I’m certainly not a polished author so I do. Yes, yes… I see many grammatical errors. So shoot me I’m not now and never was an English major. English was not one of my favorite subjects in school either. It was also many years ago that I was in school. Thank goodness for word processors. At least you can read my words. I got an F in hand writing in the fourth grade. I will fix those right away. Yes ma’am or sir, I say.

I scan down looking at the changes requested, picking a few out at first to read what has been written. I read my words again. And then what has been suggested. Now why the heck didn’t I see that error? I read this part more than a dozen times. Yes, I read right over it and supplied the words in my head instead of what was written on the page. Or, I read a different way to state what I was trying to say. Now why didn’t I write it that way in the first place?

I go through and make the changes asked for or make inquires to the editor. How many edits will it take I ask? That depends on how many times it takes to make it perfect or at least acceptable in the editors eyes. I just hope my editor has a sense of humor

The entire time this process is taking place I keep reminding myself in the words of a wise lady who also owns and operates a publishing company. If we didn’t like the story we would not have offered a contract in the first place. Yeah!

Editors gotta’ love em. I say that with deepest affection.

If an editor happens to read this and finds countless errors just remember this is a (expletive) blog and not a ms.

Gary/GE Stills