Revisions - A First

It's a beautiful Wednesday in my part of the country. I hope y'all are enjoying some of this lovely weather where you are, too.

I want to share a 'first' with y'all. Although I've been writing fiction for years, I have never had any of it professionally edited. No, I haven't published any of my stories. I knew that publishing a story  without the keen eye of an editor would be a mistake, at least for me. So, my stories have found their way into boxes for years. They've lived in dark, dusty places while I lived my life without *much* thought of publication.

As many of you know, I recently signed a contract with Master Koda Select Publishing for the first book in my trilogy, "Rough Hewn". I've also written a short story that won entry into the Master Koda "Literary Treasures" anthology, due out this summer.

Of course, having a story to tell does not equate to a story that is shined up and ready to publish. Unless you are an editor by trade or extremely well-versed and accomplished in the art of fiction writing, of course.

Here are a few things I learned from my first-ever professional editing process:

• Show, don't tell - I am too wordy.
• I need to pay closer attention to details so as not to turn 'a' into 'b' within the story.
• No head-hopping allowed - POV (point of view) is really important!
• A professional edit is not so scary after all.
• Working with an honest, trustworthy and compassionate team of people is imperative to a comfortable working relationship.

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"Ziggy Returns", a ghost story with a little humor and a tad bit of romance, has been edited. I dreaded having edits/revisions to do. As it turns out, I was pleased with the process. When I received the edits from my publisher, I was surprised to find a few things that I should have caught before submitting the manuscript. I learned quite a bit from her suggestions throughout the manuscript, as well. I sent my revisions back on  Monday night. I'm not delusional enough to think that one round has 'fixed' the story. I fully expect that I'll have to go back into it again. If so, I'm ready. If not, all the better for us both. *smile*

The book cover to the left may not be the final cover for "Ziggy Returns". It is one I created using two separate Microsoft Office programs. My publisher works with a great cover artist who may decide that she can improve on my version of the cover. Improvement is a good thing.

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I'd love to hear about your first ever revision stories.

 

 

 

 

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