Getting down to the nitty gritty

You'd think after reading a manuscript multiple times, the mistakes would be minimal, but each pass has its purpose. 

The new book goes to the editor this week, and for the first time probably ever, I’m scrambling. Usually I have it to her early. I’ve had things interfering. Trips and surgeries and projects, oh my. On top of that, the program I rely on to help me with edits is no longer “a thing.” Instead of having something visibly show me usages, I’m back to searching for the overused and filler words, among other grammatical snafus. Here’s hoping I haven’t misspelled my heroine’s name (yes, I’ll check for that). I’ve removed dozens of instances of “just” and “up” and other adverbs that don’t belong. I’ve fixed instances where I misused “that” and made vague references clear.

After a high level review to make sure things flowed, I’m doing an overall read for the mistakes I’ve created while editing, but because of all the distractions, I’m finding so much more that snuck through. In Chapter 1, my hero is using a notepad and pen. Then a notebook and pencil. He puts his pen/pencil down, and a paragraph later, he does it again - without ever picking it up. All of this in Chapter 1. The story as a whole flows, but now I’m in the nitty gritty. Does everything make sense? Clearly, I still have work to do. Too many silly mistakes. Don’t ask my critique partners about the number of incorrect homonyms I’ve used. My mind has been elsewhere too often this time around, but that’s what editing passes are for, and I’m in the home stretch.

Assuming everything holds together, next week’s blog post should have preorder links for anyone who likes to do that. Baby steps, but I’m getting there!