No, that’s not of a prize fight. That’s rounds of edits in my novel Preserve The Revelation.
Though, I’m not sure but that thinking about novel writing, or maybe any book writing, might not be better described in terms of a boxing match. In this corner is The Manuscript, in rough draft. It needs much work to be able to win the fight. It’s rough around the edges, maybe even in the middle. It has great potential, but can it be molded into a quality work?
In the other corner, is Mild-Mannered Author. He thinks he can win this fight and make Manuscript do anything he thinks it should. But does he know his characters? Does he manage conflict in a way that keeps the reader engaged and turning pages? Does he know scenes and sequels; or, if he doesn’t know that writing technique, does he intuitively grasp the principle behind it and pace the book according to it? Does he understand the Magic Paragraph, and does he space these throughout the book? Can he even find his notes from the conferences where those concepts were taught?
How many rounds will this take? For the prequel to this, Doctor Luke’s Assistant, I think I went through four rounds. That was my first novel, and should take longer to craft to perfection, right? If that took four rounds, surely this one will take only two.
I e-mailed a copy of the Word file to my next beta reader, asking him to have it back to me by March 1. I’ll print a clean copy of it tomorrow, to take with me as I travel this week. I’ll be on a plane to Atlanta on Tuesday, to attend the annual conference of the International Erosion Control Association there from Wednesday through Friday, returning home late on Friday. I’m hoping in those days to get all the way through it myself. I’ll hole up in my hotel room for three nights and read-away. With luck, I’ll have my second round of edits done and typed by the time I get comments back from my beta reader.
That means, if two rounds of edits will really be enough, I’ll have the book ready to publish some time around March 4. I’ll take three or four days to format for e-book and print, and publish them. The cover is well underway. The cover photo is chosen and approval to use received, and needed artwork on it is commissioned and will shortly begin.
There’s many a slip, but it could happen on this schedule. I’m starting to get excited.
I only allow myself two proof readings. I used to do more but I found that the editing never ever stops. Of course, I do short fiction for the most part, so my proof reading adventures are less extensive and time consuming. Also, I leave a bit of time between my finishing the raw copy and both proof readings. Finally, the story goes to my editor and I make the suggested corrections.
After all this I’m done; no matter how much better I think I can make the story. It’s time to move on.
A.D.: I was thinking two rounds of edits would be it, but when I typed the edits today, it seemed like too many to call this final. I’ll let it rest a day or two, but right now I’m leaning toward a third round. That would mean pushing publication back, but that’s okay. Any deadline set is my own.