Or even a neighbour…
Why is English so much fun?
Any other examples?
Getting it right
The proof is…
*Gulp*
Beware the Falling Avocados has gone to my proofreader.
We had a lovely chat over a cup of tea (about most things other than my book) and then I came home, buoyed up by having achieved a goal: my book is finished. It is the next step on towards being published.
So there is a lull in book production – or, more accurately, a cessation in editing for a period – and I thought I would post some information about the nitty-gritty end of publishing a book.
And by that I mean self-publishing.
And by that I mean in the way I have – which is neither the only nor necessarily the best way, but it has worked for me.
Firstly, in order to publish a book you must write it.
Having written it, you must edit it.
Having edited it, you must get some other opinions – ideally from a respected, independent source.
Then you must re-edit, re-write and re-edit until you are blue in the face.
This is the place I am at now. I have done what I can. Do I think it is the best piece of writing in the world? No. Do I think I shall win the Samuel Johnson prize for non-fiction? No. Did I use the word indubitably even once? No. Indubitably no.
But is it as good as I can make it? Yes – for now. Sending to the proofreader is not the end! Obviously, it is very nearly the end but I haven’t pressed the button marked ‘print’. Proofreading is to fine tune it: to get spellings right, to ensure consistency with the typing, to be grammatically correct. It would not surprise me if I have to re-write sections… but this is good! It is good to get better and improve. Every time I go back to my manuscript I find parts to rewrite in the pursuit of perfection (a goal that can never be achieved, by the way). I suspect I shall be a perpetual editor for every piece of writing in my entire life: I still feel like that about In the Shade of the Mulberry Tree and that’s been published for three years now.
Now, though, I am at the stage of Making a book. And the most exciting part I plan to reveal next week: the cover design.
Yes, I could hope** and skip with excitement. Other than the writing, it is probably the most important part of a book. Good job I love it then!
** Or hop. Hop and skip.
As pointed out to me by my marvellous proofreader – worth every penny!
And breathe…
It was a manic week of work on Book 2, together with a raft of other matters that needed attending to for the family and other commitments. It took a late night (or early morning) to reach the end of the book, correcting all the mistakes I could and re-writing all the bits that were obviously wrong, as well as the odd chunk of copying and pasting.
But – finally: manuscript complete.
Printed out on clean, white paper.
Given to a friend.
She (bless her) is going on holiday for a week and offered to take it with her as reading material. In case you’re concern, I have said that it is more important that she enjoys her holiday!
Still, having given her the printout I thought:
I need to re-write the ending. That ending is too abrupt. And does anyone want to know what happened next? Do I need an epilogue?
And then I thought:
What if I moved that chapter in with the camping story? Would it flow better? Can I mish-mash the two tales?
It turns out editing is never truly finished.
And today is…
I see it is over a month since I last posted on the blog: forgive me, but somehow the summer holidays always overwhelm me. It is a long, long time to entertain children and to keep them from being glued to small screens. Or big ones.
However, term has resumed. I have a child starting GCSEs. This makes me feel very old (though not as old as I’ll feel in two years time when my youngest starts hers!) The work-life balance resumes a routine, which may not be a perfect balance but at least I know when the spaces are.
Writing has, sadly, taken a backseat too. I have almost finished editing Draft 2 – which may be Draft 22: I don’t really keep count, but I know my next job is to print it all out, again, and go through it, again, and try to make it better. ‘Making it better’ seems to be all I have done for the last two years, and that is slightly driving me mad. I don’t want to publish unless it is the best it can be, yet there is a point – has to be a point – at which I say, “Enough is enough!” That point is coming ever closer!
I will write more, and more regularly, as term goes on, but meanwhile let me go back to filling my days with writing rather than routine.
12 reasons why writing is like tennis
It is the Wimbledon season and I am even more distracted from writing than usual. I thought I’d put my wasted time to some use: here are the reasons I see that writing is like a game of tennis.
- Like you can’t win on the first point in tennis, your writing won’t win on the first draft.
- It takes a lot of hard work to become really good. Lots and lots of hard work… which isn’t seen by the majority of viewers/readers.
- For tennis you need a racquet and ball; for writing a pen and paper. Basic equipment is essential, but tennis/writing doesn’t need much to allow the game/book to progress.
- What you wear has little bearing on the quality of output (although nudity is discouraged!)
- There have been amazing advancements in technology over the years – such as the progression from wooden racquets, or the development of computers – but the basic game remains the same: a good story is a good story, however it comes about.
- Tennis is not a team game: it is one-on-one, however many support staff may be watching from the wings. So it is with writing: the final product is yours and yours alone. Others may help along the way, but it is your name that goes on the cover of the book.
- You may have a bad patch – lose a few games, write some rubbish – but the next point is a fresh start. The match is never lost until the last point is won.
- Sometimes it is mind over matter: believe in yourself and you are more likely to win.
- Some days, writing is like the perfect first serve: an ace at 120mph, on target and winning. Others, the serve is returned back faster than it was delivered for a backhand winner down the line. Either way, the next day you have to pick the ball up and try again.
- The most outrageous shots can still be winners.
- There will always be commentary and criticism from the sidelines. There is an art to discerning the wise and salient points, but you must never let matters of irrelevance get you down.
- Only those at the top get paid lots. But the rest of us can dream!
And the best bit is reaching the end and declaring yourself a winner with Game, Set and Match!
Beware the Falling Avocados: frustrated writer update
The book is nearly finished.
No, honestly, it nearly is.
I’ve just got to write this chapter, and then a couple more, and then an epilogue, and then it’s done.
Oh, and I need to go back and re-write the third chapter (‘cos it was rubbish).
Maybe I should ditch that chapter all together? If so, what impact does it have on the rest of the book – before and after?
And, re-reading the middle section, it doesn’t hang together properly. *rewrite*
Spell check. Always amusing with Zambian place names.
Where did that rogue word appear from?
Haven’t I already mentioned that? Am I just repeating myself erroneously?
Another unnecessary adverb…
Why are my husband’s comments always right? *rewrite*
How come it was ‘one week’ on page 46 and ‘one month’ on page 47?
Present tense or past tense, or some other tense that I forget the name of? Perhaps I shouldn’t have all three within one paragraph?
And now my final chapter doesn’t seem…well, final.
Let me just go through it again.
No, really, the book is nearly finished.
It’s just not perfect.
Not yet…
Ilkley Literature Festival – tonight!
So, today’s the day.
Today I stand up in front of an audience (of unknown quantity, although my father has promised he’ll be there) and talk about self-publication.
“How can a minnow make a masterpiece?”
A marvellously alliterative title that I agreed to three months ago…and am now wondering what exactly I meant by it!
It hasn’t been the easiest of run-ins. I did have a practice over 2 weeks ago, when a couple of friends gave me wonderful advice. “Talk more slowly,” they said. There may now have to be a general health warning: If you are coming, please wave a white flag before you fall asleep incase I have taken that too literally. The event starts at 9pm at the Wildman Theatre, Ilkley Playhouse. Too slow and we’ll still be there when the sun rises!
Given all the events of the last couple of weeks it will be a small miracle that I am there at all. Firstly I dropped my mobile phone down the toilet. (Yes, scoring 10/10 for acts of stupidity.) (Though I have now got a shiny new one…)
Then, of course, my mother-in-law’s unexpected death has rather scuppered the family’s emotional state. (I’ve resolved to show my grief by never cleaning the house again…well, it’s the current excuse for dust and dog hairs!)
And now, all my best laid plans for travelling across the Pennines to the county of my birth have been ruined by a bus company that didn’t arrive on time to take my daughter to her school residential. And thus, they are arriving back late. And thus, I am leaving before she gets home. (Or rather – before you call out social services – I’m not. Instead I’ve wasted a precious day of my life sorting out alternative arrangements, and increasing my stress levels.)
On the positive side: it is nearly half-term!
In all seriousness, I am really looking forward to my event this evening. Forgive me a few nerves and it will be a fun look through my process to self-publication.
And then offer me a Gin & Tonic at the end – I’ll probably need it!
See you this evening: 9pm, Wildman Theatre, Ilkley Playhouse,
a free Fringe event as part of Ilkley Literature Festival
7 tips for editing your book
A few weeks ago (more than I care to admit to) I started a short series of posts about the process of self-publication with a rainbow of suggestions about writing: 7 tips for writing your book. Today I move on to part 2 … editing.
Writing produces a first draft – a basis around which the final book will be formed. There is a magnificent feeling when writing ‘The End’ and putting down your pen (or the computer equivalent) knowing that you have completed your story. However, the fatal mistake of some self-publishers is to think that is it – that the book is complete and ready for printing. When these manuscripts are sent to agents or publishers they are instantly rejected, as the writing is seen as what it is: a draft form.
(Obviously there will be an exception which proves this rule, which you are welcome to tell me in the comments box!)
The next process is editing. It is hard to offer a timescale for this. Some people produce just another one or two drafts; I’ve heard of someone who was on his sixth-fourth. The purpose is to make it as perfect as possible, in every possible aspect: storyline, grammar, layout, spellings, consistency. Here are some of my suggestions.
- Put your opus aside for as long as you can before you start editing. After a week (better still, a month) it will all seem new, and what had felt clear and beautifully written may well be seen as mush with fresh eyes.
- Take on board any advice that you are given by others. Their distance from the work is an advantage that you don’t have. If they’ve struggled to read a sentence, so might any stranger who picks up your book.
- Read the work aloud. Ideally to friends (your local writers’ group is perfect for this). You will be surprised how many errors this highlights, such as the repetition of words, or trite phraseology, or typos.
- Use spellcheck. (Really! Isn’t this obvious!)
- Try to remove adverbs, replacing them with better verbs. Using Find > “ly” should locate most of them. Think twice about leaving any in.
- Be brave in re-writing. Some chunks, even chapters, may have to go. Characters may actually be redundant, however much you love them. If you can’t understand a passage, no-one else will. Press the delete button…
- Keep doing this, again and again, until the point of publication (more in the next post!). Your aim to eliminate all errors and it is astonishing how many times you have to read through your writing to find them all.
When I look back, I realise that I took 4 years editing my first book. Admittedly, within that there were large gaps when it wasn’t looked at, but then I refer you to point 1 above: the space enabled me to my writing afresh, and to understand which parts were stickier than others. And spelling errors (despite using spellcheck … though it has more problems with words like Kalingalinga or Muli bwanji!). The editing process just keeps rolling on and – if you are to create a masterpiece – is probably the most important thing you will do.
What are your tips for editing a book?