Thanks for dropping in! If you’ve browsed through these posts, you might be curious about when exactly my book will be published. Good question. So am I.
Right now, I’m in the process of selecting a copy editor to fine tune the manuscript. Most people can spot a word that should have been capitalized, a missing period, or those strange word choices that result from an overeager Autocorrect. Sometimes I’m tempted to leave the typos in. I can’t be the only person who chuckles at finding one in a published book. Why deprive my readers of that joy? JUST KIDDING.
Besides checking the spelling, grammar and punctuation, editors offer suggestions to improve a story’s readability. What seems obvious to me might be obscure to everyone else.
You know those three aspects of communication? Let’s do the math. (What I meant to say) + (What I thought I said) doesn’t always add up to (What I actually said). True story. Close acquaintances learn to decode our unique modes of expressing ourselves. But my readers don’t have that advantage.
I might forget to explain a character’s aversion to deep water. When they encounter it and panic, it makes no sense to my audience. Not if I neglected to explain that this fictional person once watched their loved one drown. In real life, things can get just as misconstrued. We wonder why someone overreacts to an ordinary situation. But their lived experience affects how they now interpret life. Given what they’ve been through, their reaction makes perfect sense. When you know.
The same disconnect can occur in fiction. My developmental editor kindly pointed out where my characters’ actions or responses seemed unmerited. Or inadequate. Despite copious revisions, my copy editor will catch things I missed. Every individual I’ve considered for the job is encouraging, enthusiastic and extremely kind. All of them would be an absolute pleasure to work with. They’re all gems, but I only need one.
While the final edit takes place, I also need to get my cover designed, the map of Lonecca drawn, and then figure out where to self-publish in an industry that’s changed drastically since I launched my first novel.
Thank you for showing up to share this journey with me. Writing is a solitary task. But surrounded by all the people who care about how the work’s going, it’s never been lonely.
What about you? Are you involved in something that seems to take forever? A renovation? A healing process? A relational do-over? Hang in there. You’re not alone. The end result will be worth it.
Ciao for now,
Kai