I do so love editing.
How people survived writing a manuscript by hand or on typewriters I really don't want to know, honest, I'd have nightmares!
But, love it or loathe it, editing must be done if I want to query by the end of the year. I'm taking my beta-readers notes and comparing them to the new drafts. I'm using the "find" function of my word program to hunt down passive voice, "had", and "and". It's frustrating, it's slow, but it's progress.
Last night I spent three hours working through one chapter and it still isn't clean. I'm not happy with the opening pages. If I'm not happy I can only imagine what an agent would think. Rejection!
At this point I think it's important not to rush. Perfection cannot, and should not, be rushed. I have wonderful ideas. I know the ideas are new. I think that if I write the ideas well and create the worlds accurately that the books will be viable for the print marketplace. But not until they're polished. I don't want to ruin my chances of having something published or well received because I rushed this stage in my eagerness to move past just dabbling in writing.
Don't get me wrong, I love to write. Even if I never find an agent or publisher I'll continue to write. But there is a difference between someone who writes for fun (that would be me at the moment) and someone who writes for an audience of hundreds or (let's dream a little) thousands. There's a difference in the writing. There's a difference in the drive and enthusiasm. There's a difference in dealing with those pesky people who ask when I'm going to get a real job. Writing is a REAL job, it just doesn't pay. Kind of like Mommying, which is a full-time job without pay. I Mom every day too.
Just_Me, I will never loved editing. Neva eva. But I manage to slog through it by keeping the end goal in mind. :-)
ReplyDeleteHave you tried the website 'Autocrit' to find your passives, overused words, etc? The link is on our website, created by a writer I knew at the Critique Circle. It's free to use (a limited version) and really helpful to see the percentages of how 'overused' certain words are, all at once rather than one at a time. It might be a bit easier that find and replace thru word.
Nice blog--keep on writing! :-)
I'm also jealous of your love of editing. That's the point at which I tend to be seduced into the arms of a new idea. I know exactly what you mean about "dealing with those pesky people who ask when I'm going to get a real job." Comparing it to Mommying it makes perfect sense. You're giving birth to your book, and now helping it take those first steps... go on, go baby, you can do it... :)
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