Editing

So now that my cover designer is busily working on the cover for "In a Stranger's Arms," it's time to get this baby ready for submission.  Last night I did a deep read through and edit of my story, because there's nothing worse than getting something into print and then finding glaring problems.

The best way that I have found to do this is to read my writing slowly and out-loud.  Like many of you, I read fairly quickly unless I actually force myself to slow down.  When you read like this, it's very easy to gloss over spelling errors, word choice problems, and a host of other mistakes.  At high speeds, you don't always actually read what's on the page, you read what you expect will be on the page, and this means that you might auto-correct in your mind the very mistakes that you're looking for.

Reading out-loud can also help you to guard against getting too overwrought in your writing.  There's nothing like reading out-loud to make you really own your text and ask yourself, "Is that really the way I want to put that?"

But reading by oneself, even out-loud, is only step one.  No matter how carefully you read, it is still you doing the reading, meaning that you can only get your perspective on the story.  When you publish, you will hopefully have appeal for an audience of more than one.

It is important to have one or more readers who can look over your work and help to tell you what does and doesn't work.  You want someone who can be honest with you both about what works amazingly well and about the times that drag, are confusing, or are unintentionally humorous.

Not many people in my immediate circle are comfortable reading erotica (or even know that I do), so my pool of potential readers is currently limited.  Thankfully, my husband is an experienced and accomplished writer.  He has a lot of experience with both reading and writing (and he's open-minded about my sexually-oriented writing).  I've already had him look over it once before, but before I go to press, I'm definitely going to have him read it over again more in-depth.

For some people editing, proofreading and getting feedback from beta-readers is an extraordinarily painful process.  And it makes sense that it is so.  Our writing is so personal.  It takes blood, sweat and tears to get something down on the page.  Perhaps more disconcertingly, it reveals a wealth about our basic assumptions about the world and ourselves, even (and perhaps especially) the things that we least meant to share in our text.

The important thing to remember is that errors will be found regardless.  If something goes to press and has a typo, an unbelievable moment, or an awkward phrase, someone will find it.  But wouldn't we rather that that happen before it goes out to the general public?

When I've finished with my edits, the next step will be getting it ready for submission to Smashwords.  I've already started looking over the style guide, but I get the sense that I'll be doing a lot more studying of that document before "In a Stranger's Arms" finds its way online.