So, I’ve recently been involved in the tenth (?) round of editing my novel – insert big sigh – and one thing you realize when involved in that particular exercise is that there’s always loads that need to be cut. You may think you’re a genius but – you know – not really. I have discovered that I tend to be what’s politely called “a little wordy”. My greatest step toward correcting this aspect of my writing was first, to divide my novel into two and then to get other eyes on it to dispassionately point out mistakes and areas to trim. It’s an illuminating experience but necessary. These could be Beta Readers or Critique Partners. They’re invaluable. The next step will be to find a professional editor – one of the biggest expenses in the self-publishing game.

Now, due to the fact, I originally approached this enterprise back-to-front, I probably would have have thought of this point much earlier. However, it is absolutely essential to do some editing yourself before submitting your manuscript to an editor. Mainly because they charge according to word-count and secondly, if you submit your first draft, any editor will immediately peg you as a blatant amateur and take a pass on your manuscript. Editors will give you a idea of their fees before you submit to avoid any surprises. Then, it’s a matter of deciding on the type of editing you’re looking for: Line Editing, Developmental Editing, Copying Editing and Proofreading.

Of course, you can declare your genius doesn’t need to be “edited” and is fine as it is and throw it up on the web and sit back and wait for the money to come rolling in…. To which, I can only say, “Don’t give up your day job.” The self-publishing world is a dynamic and constantly changing world and if you want to go this route just be prepared for that. Millions of books are published EVERY day and it takes a polished, professional product to stand out. Plus a fair degree of marketing. More on that in another blog.

However, as with any “Rule” you must know when to abide by the current advice and when to break free. Rules are guidelines after all, not dogma that can never be questioned. Just be prepared to face criticism if you try to avoid certain steps and end up releasing a seriously flawed product. Criticism on the internet can get fierce and vicious. If you have a thin skin, you may be vulnerable to a traumatic experience.

An interesting side effect of this process, has been discovering just how often I tend towards ‘excessive verbosity’. Sometimes I just love words too much. This might be overcompensation for my graphic novels where I didn’t have to describe how a character looked, you could see for yourself. The mood I could illustrate with a gesture or a tilt of the head, I was required, in prose, to evoke with words. And now, that’s led me back to editing. Even this many times around I see scenes, paragraphs and words that are not truly necessary to the story.

Sometimes I take a break from editing to do rough sketches of scenes, settings and characters from my novels too. This little sidestep can relieve some of the anxiety that editing induces. In my last blog, I included a small sketch of the cottage in the woods where some of the action takes place. This time I’ve included a sketch of a drawing room in a fancy manor. It’s not quite as gothic as I portray in the book but the large family portrait is a symbolic note that has a presence in that particular setting. I think I may need to do another sketch that conveys a greater sense of the size of the room. However, those two couches witness a lot of amazing things…Just saying.

In addition to working on my novels, I took the time to add to our Holiday Dragons with this design for a special St. Patrick’s Day Dragon named, Lucky. With his four-leaf clovers and pot o’ gold he’s ready to share his good fortune whenever you bring him home on any of the quality products from our Redbubble shop. Move over Leprechauns. The St. Patrick’s Day Dragon is sharing the gold at the end of the rainbow!