I read someplace that you are not supposed to apologize for being lax in posting at your blogsite. I find this a difficult policy to follow as I have pretty much spoiled you with fresh postings daily over many months. Some of you have become accustomed to hopping over to my blog every day and checking out my offerings. <\/p>\n
This week, however, I have been remiss in posting. Why? I\u2019ve been singularly focused on editing a manuscript for a client. This was the final edit, mind you. For months, I\u2019ve been editing this novel chapter-by-chapter, ever eager to see the entire manuscript as a whole. Finally, I got that opportunity, and I spent the next 45 hours in editor mode.<\/p>\n
One evening, as I was going over printed pages for a different perspective, after spending the day looking at the manuscript on the monitor, it occurred to me that I was treating this project as if it was one of my own books. Editing is definitely a complex, involved process, but the final edit is incredibly more intense as you must consider so many aspects of the manuscript.<\/p>\n
This is when you finalize the story, triple check for inconsistencies, decide which spellings to use, make sure that the story events are realistic and reasonable or, in the case of a nonfiction book, that the organization is right on and the instructions are clear. <\/p>\n
Is the person and tense consistent throughout? Will you use Americanized or UK English spelling? Have you made your point? When you changed a character\u2019s name, did you make the change throughout? (Often, I discover discrepancies in this area, particularly in novels.) Are the dates true and realistic? (If the child was born in 1907 and his father dies 5 years later, you can\u2019t later say he was a teen when his father died.) Which terms in your story are two words and which are one? Is it wood stove or woodstove, stair case or staircase, pack horse or packhorse, hand gun or handgun? Find out and then be consistent. <\/p>\n
And then there are, of course, grammatical considerations: Are the sentences complete? Are they clear and concise? Do your sentences flow into one another so that readers can follow your story or the information you offer?<\/p>\n
It takes a great deal of concentration, focus, thought and time to do that last edit. You must pay attention to detail like never before. I told someone this week that, when editing, I feel like my daughter\u2019s Beagle when he is on a scent\u2014driven and all-consumed. <\/p>\n
How do you go about that final edit (which I have to say isn\u2019t always THE final one\u2014as, often, you are drawn to go back to your manuscript again and again to check on various aspects that come to mind)? Here are some of my techniques and tactics:<\/p>\n
\u2022\tI study the entire manuscript and make corrections and notations on the computer.<\/p>\n
\u2022\tI print out sections of the manuscript as I\u2019m working and look at it again on paper. You may be surprised at what you will catch\u2014things you didn\u2019t notice, when viewing it on the screen.<\/p>\n
\u2022\tWhen I find a word I\u2019m unsure of or a discrepancy, I check the usage, spelling or whether it should be one or two words and fix it. Then I do a search for other instances of this word or term so I can make them conform.<\/p>\n
\u2022\tI double check dates and spellings of names. In the manuscript I just completed for a client, for example, he used a name that required an accent over the \u201ce.\u201d Yet, sometimes, the accent was missing. These had to be fixed.<\/p>\n
\u2022\tI watch for red flags indicating that the order of things may be incorrect. Is the character coming from or going to the coffee shop? Did she already have the bicycle in this scene or did she attain it later? If she poured herself a cup of coffee, she cannot be now sipping tea\u2026<\/p>\n
\u2022\tI make sure that the content is easy to understand and follow.<\/p>\n
\u2022\tIs the formatting consistent and reasonable?<\/p>\n
\u2022\tWhat about punctuation? <\/p>\n
\u2022\tIs the numbering of the chapters correct? I have seen authors delete a chapter or combine chapters and forget to change the numbering. Likewise, do the chapter titles in the manuscript match the titles in the Table of Contents? (We\u2019ve all been known to change titles of chapters midstream.<\/p>\n
\u2022\tIf the author has established a style of beginning each chapter with a Biblical passage or ending each chapter with a riddle, has he done so throughout?<\/p>\n
\u2022\tAre the historical aspects of your historical novel realistic?<\/p>\n
\u2022\tAre your facts and statistics accurate?<\/p>\n
Yes, there\u2019s a lot to think about before you finalize your manuscript and start pitching it to a publisher or agent or before you self-publish it. And this is precisely why you need at least one additional pair of eyes\u2014preferably eyes that are trained to spot problems\u2014to review your book before you consider it finished.<\/p>\n
Learn more about self-editing in my book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book<\/em><\/strong>. You\u2019ll also find valuable information about how to choose an editor and what to expect from him\/her. http:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/rightway.html<\/a> <\/p>\n For a quote on editing your book or article manuscript, contact me at: PLFry620@yahoo.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I read someplace that you are not supposed to apologize for being lax in posting at your blogsite. I find this a difficult policy to follow as I have pretty much spoiled you with fresh postings daily over many months. Some of you have become accustomed to hopping over to my blog every day and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t