Editing Woes

It is late and I am tired. But I wanted to share a bit of a “behind-the-scenes” when it comes to the stage of editing that I am in currently.

I have sent my book to my beta readers and developmental editor, which means I have comments on my story that involve “how did a) happen here when you said b) happened on page 192?”

All great questions. I am so happy to answer them, fill in the blanks, add a few scenes here or there, all of that. I have done a ton of this over the past couple of months and it’s made the story so much stronger.

The problems happen when I try to get too clever for my own britches.

Because my book is novel-length, there’s a lot going on in there. Actions happen, they have consequences down the line, I foreshadow here and there, and I even do a bit of foreshadowing for book 2 because I am trying to be clever. BUT, because it’s a longer book and my brain is muddled from having gone through it so many times (I have been editing this book on and off since November 2022), I sometimes forget that I already solved a problem, and then try to solve it again - but because I am a human and not a robot - I solve it in a different way than I did originally. Then, I find the solution I originally came up with and I have to decide, which solution is better? Should I control Z my way through all the edits I made, or should I merge the ideas or rewrite a few scenes so the new idea works?

This happens whether I am doing a big fat readthrough of the whole book over a two day period - or if I am hopping through the book editing different parts.

I am what I’ve heard called a “plantser” which means I write a brief outline, then I write by the seat of my pants. This is a great way for me to write and I can do it rapidly and pick up steam and have a ton of fun. But it also means that when I come to edits, I forget that I have already planned everything out and solved for a variety of problems. So, I want to come up with new things and therein lies madness.

Aaaaannnnnnyyyyway, I am tired. I have a few more big picture edits to go, then line edits, then copy edits, then I am done done donzo and the book will be released mid Sept. Along with a freebie novelette that I also have already written. And the book now has a fun little epilogue that I added today, too.

Then it’s onto book 2, which I am SO excited about. I can’t wait to start it. But I have to wait because I have to finish these damn edits and stop being an ouroboros. My tail tastes bad and I don’t want to eat it anymore.

Goodnight all. I can’t wait to share Macabre Tales Book 1: The Cult of Elle with all of you. Cover reveal is coming soon!