Well, I had a very productive weekend of editing, word polishing, and sentence tightening. The first round of edits are done and I'm ready for round two!
Many people don't realize how long it takes a book to get published, but there is a lot to consider. Not to mention that the editors and cover artists are working on more than just your project. There is the editing itself, and the marketing information such as a tag line or back cover blurb that entices the reader to buy your book. There is also cover art ideas, dedications or acknowledgements, and of course, my author photo that I finally picked for the book. See?!
While editing and reading my editors notes, I learned a lot about my writing style. I had no idea that I used the same words over and over, or that the word "that" is filler most of the time. I used "off of" which is redundant, and my characters were "looking", "walking" and "laughing" a lot. Not that laughing, looking and walking are bad things, but you don't want to read about it over and over.
I have read quite a few blogs and books about tightening your writing, but until I had an editor who addressed my specific writing quirks, I didn't really get it.
That being said, not everyone has their own personal editor.
SO I have included this link and this link to blogs that really helped me polish my work to get it noticed. Also, there is editing software such as Autocrit that is free and really helpful.
Some advice: Use the word find tool in your Word document to find overused words or phrases and either eliminate them or use a different word.
Many people don't realize how long it takes a book to get published, but there is a lot to consider. Not to mention that the editors and cover artists are working on more than just your project. There is the editing itself, and the marketing information such as a tag line or back cover blurb that entices the reader to buy your book. There is also cover art ideas, dedications or acknowledgements, and of course, my author photo that I finally picked for the book. See?!
While editing and reading my editors notes, I learned a lot about my writing style. I had no idea that I used the same words over and over, or that the word "that" is filler most of the time. I used "off of" which is redundant, and my characters were "looking", "walking" and "laughing" a lot. Not that laughing, looking and walking are bad things, but you don't want to read about it over and over.
I have read quite a few blogs and books about tightening your writing, but until I had an editor who addressed my specific writing quirks, I didn't really get it.
That being said, not everyone has their own personal editor.
SO I have included this link and this link to blogs that really helped me polish my work to get it noticed. Also, there is editing software such as Autocrit that is free and really helpful.
Some advice: Use the word find tool in your Word document to find overused words or phrases and either eliminate them or use a different word.