In short, it’s constant. In long, it’s constantly irritating.
Editing.
It’s the bane of most authors’ existence(s). It’s that squiggly little red line, or that query to Google, or that double-check with another writer. Or it’s that moment when you realize you missed a line (or forgot you wrote one) that changed a plot point forever. Or it’s just that you thought of a better way to phrase something. It’s developmental, it’s line, it’s copy, it’s a lot of headaches.
So when do you do it? How do you do it?
This answer is going to depend on a few key things, and you’re going to have to be the one to answer them for yourself.
This blog is going to be split into two parts, with part two coming later the week of 9/29-10/6. Part one addresses concepts and some soul-searching, and part two identifies the way I go about it.
Key Note: This is for Novels, Novellas, and Shorts.
All the love for FB posts and blogs, but this is a bit more involved than that type of content.
- Your own personality.
I’m not going to lie to you; this is going to be a major deciding factor. Are you someone that has to make everything perfect the first time? Are you someone that has to ensure that whatever you type is exact the moment you write it? Or are you okay with going by the seat of your pants and just getting something down?
In fact, I’m going to push that last part. A major unwritten rule of writing is, “You can’t edit a blank page.” I’ve heard this from so many successful writers, but the actual quote seems to be from Jodi Picoult. In short, if you don’t have something on the paper, you can’t fix it. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but you have to have it written first. - What your final goal is.
Are you writing for yourself? Are you writing to have other people read it? Are you writing for publication? Are you writing for your career?
Depending on your goal, you may not need to do everything. You may just need to give it a good solid proofin’ and drop it onto the free hosting site of your choice. Or you may want to invest money into it… and expect to make a living from the net result of your work. - What kind of budget do you have?
Money is an issue. There’s an old joke that says the quickest way to have an author earn one million dollars is to give him ten. It hurts, but for a lot of us, it’s true.
When you’re low on cash, you may consider doing the bare minimum. I’m going to tell you up-front that if you’re writing for publication, if you’re publishing your own work, if you expect to earn money from it, then don’t do that. Don’t skimp; don’t screw around. Invest. You got someone to buy one book. Don’t you want them to buy the next book?
I’m going to be upfront on this one:
My first six titles (Snowflakes in Summer, Dead Men in Winter, Slag Harbor, Favorite Things, Blindsided, and Fearmonger) were self-edited. Not just once, but several times over the last few years. The net result? Some readers communicated with me that they had a bad experience. The ones that stuck around really enjoyed the full Battles of Coldstone’s Summit, but they were disappointed in the quality of production.
I lost potential fans. I lost sales. I didn’t find the success that I was after.
It still hurts to this day.
This isn’t the route you want to take. So maybe… don’t. If you’re completely broke, writing a book for sale is likely not the way to fame and fortune that you may think it is. You do have a lot of costs that are involved and if you are trying to build a career, this may not be your best option.
BUT DO NOT LET THAT SWAY YOU.
I’m broke as hell. I continually try to find the money to make ends meet and to push one book out after another. Why? Because it’s what I want to do with my life. If you want something bad enough, you will find a way to make it happen.
I only want to caution you against going full-bore. If it takes longer than expected, it takes longer than expected. That’s just life sometimes.
And – who knows? There are scores of authors that have made mega-bank on their first book. These are the authors that we aspire to be. The ones that get a movie deal and a show on HBO. You might just be one!
Sometimes, you just have to say ‘Never tell me the odds!’ and punch it into hyperdrive! - Time.
How much time are you willing to invest? This is THE question. What type of schedule are you on? Do you have one? Do you have an editor lined up? Do you know how long they’re going to take? Do you have a plan?
It takes me, on average, two months to run a completed novel from point A to point B in my editing process. It takes up to one to two months for my developmental editor and my proofreading editor to work on their parts of the process. So, generally (a word used liberally and loaded with salty tears), a 270-380pg book takes up to four-five months(!) of alternate development time for the methods I use.
You can cut this down significantly if you make certain choices. You can pay more to have your editor work faster (or pay less and hire a cheap one). You can skip developmental editing if you don’t think it needs it (and I’d at least run it through a beta reader first). You may not sit down and do two different full read-throughs with a red pen. - Publishers… do you have one?
One of my best friends in the indie-author industry recently took a contract with a local publisher in the WV area (Henlo Press; they’re good people, though I don’t use them myself) who handles things like cover design and editing in-house. Amanda doesn’t have to do any of it; she submits a manuscript and goes off to the next one.
I’m jealous. Not gonna lie.
There comes a point where you have to decide: what method is right for me? Where is my time best spent? How much control do I want over the final product?
If you’re like me… you want all of it. All the control.
And it comes with all the headaches.
My way is not the end-all-be-all of ways.
While you think on these (and I work on getting my ads ready for Necromancer’s Bullet to be released on October 1st), remember:
I’m one guy.
I have been doing this for ten years.
I have not been measurably successful with a positive ROI for a variety of factors.
What I have found works for me may not work for you. What I’ve found that works for me may lead you down a path of despair. What I’ve found that works for me may waste your time. Your time may be better used by spending your money on intensive editing solutions that hand the work to other people.
Or you may read my next post (later this week) and incorporate these methods into your own work.
For now, I hope I’ve given you something to think on.
See you soon!
~Joshua E. B. Smith, Author
sagadmw@gmail.com
Like this post? Want to do me a solid? Share away!
The bigger the reach, the better.
Yeah yeah, it’s a marketing thing. At least I’m honest about it~
But seriously – I do write these articles to share my experiences in the hope that it’ll help other authors out!