W7 – Life of a writer series

Hello everyone

This week I’m doing line edits for my next novel, The Things I Should Have Told You. I’m also back on TV3’s Midday Show, on Thursday and Friday. I’m staying overnight in Dublin, so it’s a great chance to have some uninterrupted time doing the edits, away from distraction. It’s not all work though, as I have a book launch to attend to, for my friend Fionnuala Kearney’s new book, The Day I Lost You. I’m halfway through reading this one, it’s just wonderful.

There are many stages involved in the editing of a manuscript and I thought it might be helpful to share them with you. Did you know that it takes about a year for a publisher to get a book ready to hit the shelves? The reason for this is the editing process! And no matter if you are working with a publisher or not, you should always give due diligence to each stage. If at all possible get help from an expert. One thing I’ve learnt over the past five years, is that it’s impossible to self-edit beyond a certain point. Yes, there’s lots you can do to produce a clean manuscript, but trust me when I tell you this – you will miss just as many issues as you catch. Fact.

Structural edits, line edits, proof reading and copy editing  can be time consuming, but never should be overlooked. When I signed with Harper Collins I had no idea at the level of detail each manuscript goes through before its published. Here’s a small insight into each.

Structural or Developmental Edit

The editor will make sure that the plot makes sense and is believable. I’ve recently gone through this stage on The Things I Should Have Told You and I can honestly say, that while my editor pushed me hard, the end result is so much the better for it.

Some areas you can expect to hear from an editor are:

Are the characters well developed, necessary, consistent? Are there too many or too little POV’s? Is the dialogue authentic? Pace is discussed quite a lot, as the editor ensures that the story moves forward at the right pace. And of course, the editor will push the author to dig deeper, to really hone in on the emotional/dramatic impact of scenes, to ensure that the overall book reads well.

Line Edit

In my opinion one of the most important parts of the editing process, that can make difference in a good book and an excellent one. Don’t worry, this doesn’t mean changing the tone of the book or eroding your unique voice. Think of it, as just giving your manuscript a little polish!

Line edits are all about making sure that each sentence is the very best it can be. A good editor will remove all unnecessary words, check for repetition or cliches and ensure that sentences flow seamlessly. Remember while your manuscript can make sense in your own head, it may not read well, with the order of our words hard to follow. So it’s incredibly important to have a fresh pair of eyes look over it all, correcting punctuation.

Don’t be afraid to use a thesaurus. I’m aware that I overuse certain words way too much. In the line editing stage, my thesaurus is sometimes my best friend!

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Copy Editing

When you’ve gone through the initial structural and line edit then it’s time to enlist the help of a copy editor. They will ensure grammar and punctuation are correct, that there are no inconsistencies in the text (for e.g. you haven’t changed a characters name halfway through!) This is all about the detail!

Proof Reading

This is one stage where I truly believe you have to enlist the help of an expert. The dotting of i’s and crossing of t’s edit! Of course not all of us work with a publisher, but if you intend submitting your work to one or an agent, or indeed self publishing, please don’t take this task on yourself.

And here’s an article written by a proofreader I hugely respect – Mary Mc Cauley.

Proof Reading Tips

Have a great week all,

Chat soon,

Carmel x

 

 

 

 

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