Photo Friday: Just "one more edit"

I'm not sure what my photo has to do with this post, but the look on those cows...faces...seems to mirror how I feel about the prospect of "one more edit."

I can't even tell you how many times I've said these words in the past six months, "I'm working on the final edits." Or worse, "I just sent in the final edits." But truly, it never ends. It just doesn't. I am told that the edits on my manuscript were relatively minor. Turns out that the word "minor" is relative, indeed!

This "last" edit is from the proof-reader. I received it last week. This one does look different. First off, it is laid out just as the book will be. It includes photos and other memorabilia. Everything is there. And this time, I can't just make changes within the document. I have to comment on the comments the proof-reader has left or create my own comments. I cannot actually change the document.

I do think that this is truly the last pass through for Breaking the Code. But then, I've thought that before, haven't I?

Green Edit: little bit o' this - little bit o' that

I've procrastinated posting about this edit because it was not a clean edit. I ended up using this edit to do many things, such as;

Grammar and spelling - identifying all the errors the MS Word grammar/spelling checks didn't catch or caught incorrectly.
Dad read it for the first time - from beginning to end.
Mom read it for the first time - she used to be a secretary, so she's really good at catching those little errors. She also has knowledge of the family and friends included in the book and was able to let me know if something wasn't quire right.
Chapter title edit - making sure that each title encompassed an important point in the book.
Cut, cut, cut - My word count was way over, so I cut about 4,000 words.
Final fact check - Checked with all involved; mom, dad, sisters, aunts, internet, books, and other references.

I still say that the red edit was the toughest. It was the first printed edit. But this one was tough too, for an entirely different reason. I had to let good-enough be good-enough. I was just a few weeks from the day the manuscript was due to the publisher. So, no matter what, I had to be done. In the end, I still had butterflies in my stomach when I sent it off. I think those butterflies just wait there for moments like this.

Photo Friday: Just Hit Send!

Several years ago, when I first started freelance writing, a few fellow-writers and I started a group on the Absolute Write website. We didn't mean to, really. We just didn't dream that it would be so popular (and continues to this day). It was on the Freelance forum and here's how it came about;

I was commiserating with my writer pals about how annoyed I would get with myself over one aspect of submitting material to a magazine or website. After all the writing, editing and researching, when it came time to hit the "send" button, I hesitated. Sometimes, I'd put the piece aside for months instead of hitting that button. Other times, I would have to make myself hit the button. What was I afraid of? I'm not sure. But then we started a thread and invited people who had the same hesitations to join the "Just Hit Send" group.

What we learned was amazing. We learned we were not alone at all. So, each month, there is a new thread for freelancers to post that they have indeed hit send. It is also a place to post monthly goals. When I quit freelancing to write books, I really missed the camaraderie of the people there. We had come to know each other and our works quite well.

So, after months (years actually) of editing my book, I didn't have my freelance group behind me. I didn't have a place to admit how difficult this was or to celebrate in the joy of having "just hit send." Still, I did it. I hit the send button and you know what? The butterflies were still there! I even took a photo of the screen as I finally sent my completed (?) manuscript to my editor.

And now it's time for me to go back to my freelance friends to see if anyone wants to cyber-celebrate with me. Here I go and here's where I'll be; . ~KFA

Yellow Edit: The cards

The yellow edit for this book is an interesting one. I found that I'd edited and re-edited so much that everything was all mushed together. Yes, mushed is a technical word. LOL So, in an attempt to step away a bit but not stop editing altogether, I printed off each chapter individually. I then used large notecards for each chapter. For each chapter, on the top half of the card, I wrote the main ideas contained in the chapter. The bottom half was used to write the main ideas in my father's letters.

In addition to this, I used a screenwriting technique, breaking my story into three acts. I'll talk more about that later. Each act was given a specific colored card. I also used something I learned in my screenwriting class, and that is to be sure that every act, or in this case, chapter has a whole mini-story to tell. It has a beginning, middle and end. And I noted if the chapter had a teaser at the end (more on this later too), which would make the reader want to read on.

I am nearly finished with this edit and I think it was successful. I read each chapter out of order. That way, I was able to concentrate just on the chapter and nothing else. It did raise a few questions about continuity and I noted those and will feed those in when I type them into my word processor. But each edit is a little, or sometimes a lot easier than the last.

Rainbow Edits

So, what's up with color-coding my edits? Well, here's the deal. I wanted a way to separate each edit but didn't like just numbering them. That makes one edit seem better than another, which is never the case. Each edit has it's own merit. So, I decided on colors. I need separate edits in order to feel like I'm getting somewhere despite sometimes feeling like a gal in a boat with only one oar. I'm not just spinning in circles, I'm actually figuring things out each time around. How did I decide on the colors to use? I used to teach kindergarten and I taught the little tykes a rainbow song. It goes like this...

Red
Orange
Yellow
Green
Blue
Purple

Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple

Rainbow colors in the sky
I can say them
Watch me try

Red
Orange
Yellow
Green
Blue
Purple

Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple

So there you have it. I knew I'd be able to use my kindergarten information sometime. Back to editing...

Red Edit: Done!

I am done with the red edit! Woohoo. I promised myself that I would take a week off after I finished this edit. But now, that seems hasty. I know it's a good thing though, so I'm going to make myself. I need time away from it, so that I can come back and see it more clearly. But I don't want to stop writing. My dilema now is what to write. As I see it, I have three choices;

1. Work on my novel.
2. Work on memoir related things.
3. Work on a freelance article for a regional magazine.

Any wisdom for me?

Red Edit : Roadblocks

photo: When all else fails, watch the snow fall.

Oh boy. Is anybody getting some editing done? I host Thanksgiving and Christmas at my house. It's no big deal. Really. All I do is the main dish - turkey, and of course, clean the house. But my family is really great and brings everything else! I was able to work right up until Tuesday. I intended to writ on Wednesday and even sat there at the computer, but nothing came. Then the day after TG, it was even worse. I sat there for hours; I got marketing stuff done but barely any editing at all.

I'm slowly getting back into it now and I've realized something. Distractions and other events stop the flow of ideas. It's not just a matter of going back to work at a retail store after the break. It's so much more. The holidays just happen to fall during the time that I must be working on my manuscript since it is due in January. So I don't have the choice to just kinda work here and there. I must learn how to do this better. I'm not sure what the solution is. I'm completely open to suggestions...Please!

The Color Red

I admit it. I have a problem with red. I don't like it. And it's not just that it looks terrible on me either! Seriously, it's not. It's the red on white. Wait, I do love the flag and my country. So that red and white is OK. Here's the real reason;

RED INK ON WHITE PAPER MEANS YOU'VE DONE SOMETHING BAD! I know it sounds juvenile but that's my perception. What was it with red pens in the 1960's and 1970's anyway? Were there no other colors invented? Maybe I'm a bit neurotic, but whenever I got a school assignment back, I looked for those red streaks of blood to tell me what I was bad at. Occasionally, the teacher would use the same pen to write a compliment on the paper, but I quickly skipped over that and looked for the check marks, the "-2" and the "see me!"'s (how'd you like that grammar?)

I taught school for almost 15-years and I am proud to say I never, ever used a red pen to correct. Never! I used purple or green or whatever but not red. Heaven knows I did not want to create a phobia in on of my dear students! I loved them. Those who love, don't use red.

So, enough babbling. Back to the "red edit." It just so happens that they don't make red highlighters. I haven't found one anyway. And with my aversion to red, why would I look very hard. So, while my folder is red, my pen and highlighter for the red edit, are...pink. What does pink say?

Pink says pretty, happy, and soft. In editing, it says, "Whoopsie daisy, let's look at this tiny little thing again." It says, "You know, this was so good I'm embarassed to even bring this up, but let's look at this again."

Am I neurotic? Don't answer that. Anyone else have a red pen phobia? Don't answer that. No wait. Answer. No, don't...

What's up with the Rainbow?

I've tried lots of things when it comes to the editing process. I've read books and articles on the subject, talked to fellow writers, and gone to workshops. I can't say I've tried them all because many just didn't fit with my writing personality. But I did try some, only to figure out that they too, didn't fit me quite right.

Trial and error can be a frustrating experience. And I had my share of frustration as I wrote and rewrote, edited and revised. And then ended up where I started and no real idea how I got there or where to go from there. I got confused on what I had decided to change and what I hadn't, so I edited things I had decided not to edit. Does that make any sense at all? Yeah, well when you confuse yourself, that's not a good sign!

Finally, I came up with different colored edits and it has evolved to the colors of the rainbow. Why? Because I know them. I taught them to my kindergarten class when I was teaching. The order is; red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple. If you've been reading here, you've already read that my very, very first edit takes place on my word processor. The red edit is my first paper and pen edit.

As I move along with this series, you will learn what each edit entails. I have this delusion that maybe it will actually help somebody out there. But remember, no two writers have the exact same editing style. So take what you can use and trash the rest. Happy editing! ~Karen

Edit 2b: First Edit (red)

The first thing I ever wrote was on a typewriter like this one. I am very thankful for laptops!

Of all the lovely supplies I now have in hand, I am ready to begin. The red edit is the first printed out on paper edit. After printing the whole document, the fun begins. I use only my red (pink actually) highlighter, clips, and folder. In this edit I am looking at rather specific things. They are;

1. Does the story flow?
2. Did I put up roadblocks unintentionally?
3. Does the end of the chapter lead smoothly to the beginning of the next?
4. Does the end of each chapter make me WANT to read on?
5. Do the characters make sense? Are there too many? Too few?
6. Are there chunks of chapters or even entire chapters that just don't belong?
7. Did I research deep enough? Is there more I need to know?

So, I suppose you could call this edit an overview, a big picture edit. That's what it is, for sure. This edit looks at story, story, story! After the first edit on the computer, this one starts to be fun. But it's also full of perils; like whole chapters that I spent my blood, sweat and tears on that just don't fit. But if I'm scared to cut something, I do a copy/paste to another document...and THEN cut it out. Back to work. Whether you are on a first draft or a final edit, remember one thing...there will never be a perfect time to do this. So, write now...because it's later than you think. ~Karen

Step Two: Preparing for Edits

"Just gather the colors of the rainbow." photo: my sons in Hawaii.

I've talked to a few writers who were very impressed with my editing/re-vision process. I don't know that it's all that impressive. I think everyone has a similar system. I just employ a few juvenile elements to it and that makes it work for me. So, the first step is to go down to my local office supply store.

Here's my list:

7 Folders - the kind with a pocket on each side and three bendy things for hole-punched papers in the middle. See below for colors*
14 to 21 Paper Clips - the large colored kind that will hold 50 or so pages comfortably, and the small kind that will hold say, 20 pages. See below for colors*
7 Highlighters - smallish, so they can easily highlight just a few letters or sentences, without overlap. See below for colors*
7 Pens - ball point. See below for colors*

OK--so by now, you're probably thinking, what the heck is it with the colors. So here you go; you will need all items in the colors of the rainbow.

RED** ORANGE YELLOW GREEN BLUE PURPLE

There is one tiny glitch though. Even though red is a color of the rainbow, I get pink instead and call it red. I don't know. Well, I do. I just don't like to see red on the white page.

So, now that we have all our supplies, it's time to print out your first version of your book. C'mon...you can do it. I will too. More next time.

Step One: First Draft

"...let it marinate...like a roast on an autumn day..."

When I first write something, it is into my word processor. I admit that I do edit as I go. It's not from some deep philosophical writing process that I do this. It's mostly because I can't stand to leave something unclear or gramamatically incorrect. That said, I do not stop to analyze or even reread everything I write. I simply fix what I notice during this first draft and move on. Each day, I add to the manuscript. I don't reread what I wrote the day before unless I can't remember where I am. Even then, I just read the preceding paragraph or two.

When I reach the end, I have found that the piece needs to marinate. Seriously. It needs to sit there in it's juices like a roast on an autumn day. But in this case, the days may turn into weeks, months or occasionally years. But if I've waited years, I just figure it wasn't the manuscripts "time." More often it is 10 to 14 days. I force (yes I mean force) myself NOT to look at it. Not even a peek. In fact, I start on something else. I start something that is the polar opposite in some way. I might switch from adult novel to children's picture book. I might change from book to article. Whatever the case, I do something that will take my attention away entirely from the piece.

Upon returning to it, one of two things happens. I'll tell you which one is more often the case, at the end of this post. So, say two-weeks has passed. I now open the manuscript begin reading it from the title page. When I reach the page that has the proverbial "the end" typed at the bottom, I either think;

1. "Wow! This is great! Did I really write this? This is far better than I was thinking it was. I am a good writer afterall. I was born to write. Why wasn't I discovered years ago? Why am I not famous and popular and a guest on Oprah every other week?"

-or-

2. I read it and think, "Why in the world did I write this? Did I really spend that much time on this. This stinks to high heaven. No, I stink to high heaven. I've wasted my time and I can never get it back. I could have been learning to sky-dive or running for president of the United States. Where's the nearest bonfire?

So, did you guess which one happens more often than not? Oh, I want to hold you in suspense...but I won't. More often than not, it's #1 that happens. Really! Well, except for the famous and Oprah guest thing. Really, having time away from the project helps me to see it with new eyes. And my overall impression is usually (not always) that I'm a darned good writer. I know that we women aren't supposed to say wonderful things like that about ourselves, but what if it's true? So there, I said it.

Of course, the "new eyes" part of it also means that I now see mistakes glaring at me. I see where things don't make sense. I see grammar mistakes that jump out and accost me. And I see that lots and lots of work is in my future. Lots of work.

So, that has been the process for my current book, BREAKING THE CODE, too. There are four or five edits to go. More on those next time. So, what's your first-draft process? Do share!