Very, very few writers enjoy editing their own work. There isn’t the same feeling as when you’re crafting dialogue and turning phrases when you write the first draft. Plus, you’ve spent so much time getting to this point that you practically feeling married to these sentences — changing them now would be almost insulting to them!
It’s okay to loathe editing. Notice I didn’t say you could skip it.
Poor editing makes great writers look average and average writers don’t get the word-of-mouth praise that’s going to give your book a long life of producing royalties for you.
Two easy tips on the editing process:
• Let it sit. It’s easier to spot your mistakes if you don’t re-visit a chapter until a few days have passed.
• Add extra eyes. You can’t do this alone and expect to have a perfect, typo-free book. The human brain just doesn’t work that way. I’m going to edit each chapter, then my spouse will edit it, and then a professional proofreader will go over it. That should (hopefully) lead to clean copy.
• • •
You can learn more about “Signs and Wonders” at its Facebook page.
alexadena 