Editing Has Started!

I pray your week was as grand as mine. I received an email on Monday from my editor. He said the editing on my manuscript would begin that day. This afternoon I received the marked-up manuscript with notes about things to change. I have a lot of work to do! I’m very excited about it as well. There are two chapters, involving living people, that will need references to the living people removed, or dropped altogether if I want them included in the final book.

I also need to remove a bunch of swear words. My critique group at the Springdale Public Library mentioned I used too many swear words. I took out a bunch of them before submitting my manuscript to Oghma Creative Media. Now I need to take out more. I’m brainstorming ideas of how to take out the correct ones.

One thing I did learn about this first round of edits is this: if you use the local lingo of where your story is set, make sure you use it correctly. Don’t go off what an Internet site says is the definition of a word unfamiliar to you. I did this, and now I have another word to remove. I might be able to use it, but it would be sparse, now since I know what the meaning is.

Overall, listen to your critique group and your editors. They are trying to help you write the best story possible. Lastly, learn from their experience. They share it time and time again, but sadly, history doesn’t write itself.

* * *

What I’m Reading – Many readers I know like to inquire what their favorite author is reading. At the end of each blog post, I’ll let you know what book I have my nose in. I may not be a published author yet, but I hope my choice of reading material inspires you to read. I’m still reading Amy Stewart’s Girl Waits with Gun. I encourage you to read a variety of topics.