My New Editing Technique

GAVanDruff1 · Post by **GAVanDruff1** » 10 Dec 2015, 11:14

So. Two beta readers, two editors, 2 edits by me before I handed it off, then 3 - 1,2,3 - excruciating line edits. I had Kindle read it to me. One more backward line edit before The Upload. It's all good. Oh, and did I mention, I bought my own copy and read it after publication.
Then here comes the paperback PROOF copy from CreateSpace.
1300 downloads, some actual sales and I'm mortified. I NEVER saw the errors until I held the actual book in my hand. I'm talking small stuff - an extra 's, a dropped ed, hyphen not em dash. I'm only to Ch. 8! I raced over to Amazon today and uploaded a first-correction version in case anyone else picks up a copy. With 8 clean chapters, maybe the readers will forgive anything to The End til I get it fixed. Again.
Next book - I will do the paperback before I upload the e-version. I will follow my usual route as - well, usual. But from now on it's the paperback first.
I honestly thought, ha ha This is the only book on Amazon with NO mistakes! Big mistake.
Anything else people do that I've missed?
Repeat. Mortified.

gali · Post by **gali** » 11 Dec 2015, 00:19

Your book was perfect in my eyes regardless. Good luck with your next book!

GAVanDruff1 · Post by **GAVanDruff1** » 11 Dec 2015, 21:23

Thanks, Gali. They were not glaring errors. Probably only to the author - who shall remain nameless;) LOL

rssllue · Post by **rssllue** » 11 Dec 2015, 21:27

Ah the editing process. The bane of many an author!

moderntimes · Post by **moderntimes** » 12 Dec 2015, 19:08

There's always one more typo, not including the one you just found.

I spent days and days proofreading my novels prior to their being sent to my publisher. The publisher's editing staff also put the books thru line edits and so on.

Thus far, 2 novels published and the 3rd soon to appear, I've not yet found an error I made. But it's a hellish process, and it's a necessary part of writing -- I regard it as part and parcel in the process and not separate from it.

What I find wanting in reading the new print versions and Kindle versions of my books is not mechanical errors, but stylistic changes I should have made. A word here or there different, a phrase which could have been written better.

Thankfully, no errors thus far.

Insofar as the new editing technique, I agree that for some reason, physically holding the print version seems to make the proofreading process easier. What I've had to force myself to learn to proofread from a computer screen. This is easier for me because for years, I was a high-tech engineering consultant for "big oil" and worked to edit, write, and revise top-rate engineering specs, most all of it on screen.

So after years of reading precise tech specs I've become a lot better at proofreading on screen than printed. Takes practice and concentration, though. And soon as you relax, a tpyo will be certain to creep into your writing!

Emmanuel · Post by **Emmanuel** » 20 Dec 2015, 13:15

I write short essays most times. And my new editing technique is that I dedicate twice the amount of time I spent writing for editing. For instance, if it took me 2 hours to write an article, I am sure I have to spend 4hours on editing.

moderntimes · Post by **moderntimes** » 20 Dec 2015, 14:18

Editing and revising is easily 3x the time spent writing in the first place for me. I just lump it all together into the general category of "writing" and understand that revision is just part of the process.

Michelleballentyne · Post by **Michelleballentyne** » 14 Jan 2016, 22:19

Well what's your editing technique?

moderntimes · Post by **moderntimes** » 15 Jan 2016, 12:48

I use a stepwise editing technique which seems to work fine for me. Here's how it works...

I'll be writing my new novel, and I'm working on a particular sequence of events in the novel, let's say that it is maybe chapters 12-15. So I'll be writing this sequence, and what I'll do occasionally is to return to chapters 9-11 (whichever chapters encompass the previous sequence) and re-read and tweak them a bit, and then continue through into the new chapters.

So I essentially overlap my writing and editing. I'll write, say, 3 new chapters, and as I'm doing so, I'll go back a bit in my book and revise the previous 3-4 chapters and then continue writing forward.

This overlap does a couple of things for me. First, it ensures that I retain the continuity of the novel and keep all the sequences coherent. And second, it helps me gain the energy needed to press forward with new chapters. After all, 75,000 words don't come easy and I can recharge my writing batteries if I go back a bit in the story and re-read (and revise) what I've written.

So I'll write chapters 13-15 and at the same time revisit chapters 10-12, then I'll write chapters 16-20 while revising chapters 13-15, and so on. Understand, the chapter numbers are arbitrary. These imaginary numbers represent an event sequence in the novel which usually spans a few chapters.

sarahpayne23 · Post by **sarahpayne23** » 04 Mar 2016, 17:05

Do you ever use an editing service to edit your books? I used to try to edit my own writing, but found I kept missing things. I started using (removed by mod) and really enjoy working with them. They offered lots of insight! Plus, they don't charge crazy fees and got their suggestions back to me super fast!

KatherineEWall · Post by **KatherineEWall** » 25 May 2016, 04:23

I used to edit an e-zine. My section editors would go over the author's work. I would review it. We would send proofs to the authors for their input. It would go back to the editors for one final go-through. After it was set-up for the e-zine format, the entire staff, not just the editorial department would do one more close read. In fact, right up to deadline, I was checking, double-checking. Finally, convinced we had caught everything, we would upload it to our server. Every single time there was an error.

pass4sureguide · Post by **pass4sureguide** » 25 May 2016, 05:07

good job keep it up....God bless you
pass4sureguide

bookreviewer2016 · Post by **bookreviewer2016** » 15 Jun 2016, 00:55

I use software to check my work every few chapters. I don't usually have typos, but I sometimes have grammatical or punctuation errors. Probably my biggest problem is syntax, which the software usually catches for me. I know I will have to pay for professional editing eventually. At least it won't be a huge job for the editor when the time comes. (That is if I ever get off my butt and start writing again!)

MaryJones · Post by **MaryJones** » 27 Jun 2016, 05:19

Editing takes more time than writing. I always find more time for editing. I do proofreading, also use a software to check for the grammatical and spelling errors.