Greetings all! We're almost half way through December, which means the holidays are fully upon us. It also means that we're close to the end of a very busy year. I hope it was as good for everyone else as it was for me. Right now is about the time to start figuring out New Years Resolutions, if you do that sort of thing, and the best way to keep them. I generally don't, but I may try it out for 2012 and see what happens.
For the writing portion of today's post, I wanted to look more at editing/proofreading, since that has been a key topic the last few days in my life. I've said it multiple times that it is probably the hardest part of writing, since it means you have to take the thing you've worked so very hard on, and chop it up into little pieces to make sure they fit together right. Doing a few reads will help limit how much you have to work through in the big copy-edit, but also having someone else look at it is important.
The reason for this is simple: You've written something, you know how it plays out, you know everything that happens, how, and why. You will not be able to see small errors in grammar or spelling. You will not be able to see where things don't quite make sense. It's simply a fact, having a fresh pair of eyes look over it is the only way to make sure those things aren't missed. Hopefully you have friends or family who are willing to take that plunge to help you out, because depending on how long your work is, if you look for a freelance/professional reader, be prepared to shell out a sum of money you were not expecting to see. Now for shorter works, that might end up being a bargain, and if that is the case, awesome for you! Several of the places I saw had prices ranging between $4 to $7/page, and if you're story is 20 pages long, it's not that awful. "The Light Rises" however, is 202, and some places wanted the files to be double-spaced, this is money I do not have.
Networking helps with this as well, since you will have people you can reach out to, who you hopefully trust, that will assist with proofreading, and in some cases even do copy-editing as well. My recommendation is to at least do some on your own, and basic formatting as well, since that way they'll at least be looking at something that had almost be considered a final product.
I appreciate you all coming back today, remember, the previous post has that free coupon for "The Light Rises" as a thank-you for getting this blog to the 700 mark. Come back on Friday where I showcase another book I find!
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