Monday, September 12, 2011

Editing is Hard!

I know...most of you are thinking, "Duh!" But really, it is. You take something that you love, and mold it into something else (hopefully that you love as well.)

When you edit for yourself, you're completely in charge. When you edit for a group...well, you're still in charge...but when you edit for a publisher you lose some of that control. Not that it's completely a bad thing but it's definitely difficult for someone to tell you they want something done that you yourself didn't think of. I'm learning a lot from this experience, namely, how to be a better writer. How to think, parden the cliche, outside of the box...or  I guess more outside of the book.

What about you all, any good editing experiences, bad ones?

10 comments:

  1. I love editing. I find it easier than drafting a novel. At the same time, I'd like to see what an editor from a publisher thinks about what I've done and hear their suggestions for improvement. Maybe that's what it truly takes to find the missing links to make my voice be as it should.

    Looking forward to hearing more about your debut! :)

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  2. Editing is so, so hard. It's important to learn from it though. Being a good writer means being a good editor too! And you learn from every edit!

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  3. I found it challenging to edit to order, but the editors suggestions and questions did help to make the books better.

    For me, editing is the hard part, but I try to find out what works for me and apply it to my editing.

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  4. Editing is hard. It's one of my least favorite things that needs to be done as a writer. Yet my critique partners and my writers' group have helped me learn a lot about critiquing. It's helped me be a better critic and a better writer.

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  5. I agree. I would also like to add that it is extremely tedious.

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  6. It can be tedious at times, I've found, but it's a useful way of honing our own skills as writers.

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  7. I actually really like editing. I agree that it is hard, and that extra input from writers' groups and beta readers is essential, but I like seeing something better come out of it. I find it really satisfying to chop out a big section or consolidate several redundant sentences and to realize that I have a pretty good chapter in front of me.

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  8. The more I do it the better I get. Though 'tis disheartening when every time I look at it I see something else that needs tweaking.

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  9. I can honestly say that I've learned more about writing from editing my novels than I did writing them and reading about writing. It's hard, often gut-wrenching work. And one of the most satisfying things I've ever done.

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