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| How I felt when I got the line edits... |
The
end is in sight for my new book The Temp
(formerly known as Spray Painted Bananas).
I've got to stop saying this novel took me three months to write because it's
just occurred to me that I started it in October 2012 and I'm still editing!
I'm
on the line edits now. This is where the editor has gone through the book in
detail, commenting on areas which need rewording, cutting or filling out. I
didn't have line edits for my first book, Shop Girl Diaries, so it came as a bit of a shock to see how, after two extensive edits already, there
was still so much to do.
I
battled with a feeling of panic, before finally settling down to review all the notes. To my relief some of the comments were just
positive observations with no changes needed. To help me climb the mountain, I wrote down numbers 1 to
107 (the number of comments I needed to respond to) and colour coordinated them so
I could get an overview of what I was dealing with.
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| Making it manageable |
Yellow - reword
Green - expand
Orange //- chapter ending needs work
Blue - not sure I agree
Pink - positive comment
Now
I've calmed down and connected with the task at hand, I feel confident I can
get this next edit done in a couple of weeks. I even feel glad that Harper
Impulse are pushing me to write the best version possible of my novel. Well, I wouldn't want want to sell you any old rubbish, would I?
Soon I'll be getting a peek at the book cover. I can't wait to share it with you!
3 comments:
that colour coding idea for the line edits is such a great idea! And you can do it, you'll be so glad that you worked so hard on it one it's out- because you won't be able to change a single word once it's in print. ;)
Colour coding comments constitutes perfect productive procrastination - aaaargh alliteration attack
Funny, I'd usually agree the colour coordinating could be procrastinatiion HOWEVER THIS TIME they were really useful! I'm nearly at the end :) Thanks for reading Julie and Jane! X
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