Editing and Editing

Yesterday I did an editing marathon. The editor I’m working with sent back a marked up draft of my novel, and I spent at least eight hours–six of them consecutive–going over the comments and trying to make things flow better. You know what I realized? Editing your own work is HARD. You see things a certain way when you write them, so you automatically assume that others will see your vision the same way you do. A lot of the time, they don’t.

BUT… that’s why editors exist and why it’s so important for writers to trust them. It’s hard because your writing is so often a reflection of you, your views, and your passion. It’s ridiculously difficult to extract yourself from that, but when you do, it makes the process so much easier. I’ve been trying to do that, and for the most part I’m hoping I’ve been successful. We’ll see when I get the next round of edits. Either way, it just feels good to be transforming this story into something better and better. It deserves that.

I might be a little loopy from staring at a computer screen for so long. I should probably go do real people things like… oh, God, what do real people do?

Behold!

It’s interesting how much things can change in a short span of time. Instead of floundering around with dwindling confidence, writing query after query, I started looking into freelance editors. I happened upon The Independent Editors Group, browsed the editors’ bios, and fell in love with one editor, Paul Dinas, who has worked extensively on young adult fiction. So, at 12:30 AM, I sent him a query.

By 7:30 this morning, he had already responded, with a great deal of enthusiasm, to the synopsis I had sent. He’s backed up on projects right now so he won’t be able to read the manuscript until November, with sights at working on the project in December, but that gives me just enough time to smooth out some more kinks before sending him something I feel reflects my best work.

In the interim, I’ve decided to look into Bri Bruce, who is great on her own but in combination with Paul Dinas, I think I’d have a dynamite team of eyes looking this thing over and crafting it into something delicious. Hopefully Ms. Bruce and I can gut this thing and make it sing before I send it off to Mr. Dinas. I am much more excited and optimistic now that I have some professional help… I just hope I don’t go broke.

But, hey, that’s what being a writer is all about, right?