A Writer’s Life: Edits

A few months ago, I sent my first fifteen chapters off to my developmental editors. Over the course of the following three weeks, I sent the rest of the first book to them as well.

Last week, I received back the first eight chapters with notes, and I have spent the last four days pouring over them and making the minor changes requested.

Now, though, I need to go back through and make the bigger ones.

I wondered why I was so afraid of this process when I started it. And now I know.

Editing is a LOT of work.

You spend your days and nights bleeding a world onto many pages on a computer screen. You fret about your characters. You breathe live into them, give them hopes and dreams and plans and schemes. You show them love, and you show them your ire. Your brain tells you that you’re writing a masterpiece one day, and a pile of crap the next day. You waffle.  You wobble. And then you type ‘the end’ and stare at the screen for what feels like hours.

And you start again.

And in my case, again, three more times.

And then you package up your baby, and send it to someone to tear apart, word by word. It is for the good of your story, and you know it. But you pace and gnaw at the inside of your cheek and eye chocolate like it’s a long-lost love until you hear a word – any word – back.

And you start again.

I will say from the start that the choice I made to have a developmental edit done was absolutely the right choice, and my pick of editing teams seems spot on so far. I am happy with them, and luckily, they did see some moments of – if not brilliance, at least sparkling – prose in my fifth draft.

But they saw a lot of crap, too. And reading back over it, I agree with everything they have said so far.

My first pass was to address the main issues that they saw. Dialogue tags without actions too often. Grammar nonsense. Missing agency in many places that needed plumping up.

My second pass will be to attempt to weave my world building in more seamlessly, and to add much more personal reflection from my characters.

First pass is done.  Second pass starts tomorrow.

And then I go back to gnawing my cheeks and waiting for the next set of chapters to arrive.

And when it does, I start again.

I know that I have only spent about 19 months on this project. Many people work on a first book for years or decades before they can share it with anyone, and so I count myself lucky in that.

And I know that based on how quickly I was able to get through the first pass of this, editing will not be as daunting as I once assumed it would be. I hope to have the second pass done by the end of the weekend.

I am thrilled with the progress I have made, and that my editors have made.  I know there is a long road ahead of me, but I see the road now, as opposed a cart path through the wilderness.

And all that back story I wrote is lighting my way home.