A little history first… Blue Violet – this book that I am so diligently working to publish – I actually wrote about two years ago. It practically flew onto the pages. And then I hit the editing phase and… slowed…. wwwaaaayyyy…. doowwnnn. Let’s be honest, editing your own work sucks. You’ve already been so deep into it that it’s hard to disconnect and really edit.
A few family members helped me out with a lot of great edits and suggestions. But YA paranormal romance is definitely NOT the preferred genre for any of them. So up till now I have yet to be satisfied enough with my book to put it out there. Until I emailed with Indie Book Reviews and they connected me with Wendy who is now my editor.
Suddenly, the editing process has become one of my favorite stages of writing this book. In Wendy I have found a kindred spirit who’s comments are spot on as well as entertaining for me since we appear to share the same quirky sense of humor. Wendy’s edits, feedback, and comments are all aimed at helping me create a book that I am proud to share with the world. And suddenly I’m back in creating mode, but now focusing it on molding my completed work into something better.
So I thought it might be fun/interesting to share some of the edits – both constructive and comical- that have come out of Wendy’s first round of this process:
Most Common Edits:
Common edit #1 – Telling:
This is so much telling instead of having it unfold as part of the action and storyline for us to follow naturally.
This is telling. Can you engage the reader more? Maybe have them talk…have him SAY soething
Even if its just a few lines can you SHOW this happening? Have them have a small conversation, don’t just tell it.
Common edit #2 – Kids:
but be wary of the use of the words ‘kids” because it sounds inauthentic and like an adult is talking down.
I know I keep deleting where it says “kids” because it sounds off…like, little kids.
Common edit #3 – Need to introduce the conflict sooner:
We need more tension here. Some sort of stress, inciting incident. At this point I’m starting to wonder why she doesn’t just talk to them?
Part of me is wondering if some of this back story should show up sooner, like way earlier because then we would know WHAT the risk was, in her finding these people and why there is some danger/tension.
My Favorite Comments (for various reasons):
Fav #1: In response to this line “lots of bronzed muscles, cropped golden blond hair, and tawny eyes that were almost leonine in appearance”… Yummy
Fav #2: Just a note- you never need to say that someone is asking something ‘curiously’ because anytime someone asks anything they are obviously already curious J…well, usually.
Fav #3: I was just thinking about pizza like 10 seconds ago. Weird.
Fav #4: Lol I have to lol again as I just inserted this a second ago. Gotta love those muscled chests!
Fav#5: Oh freakin RAD. Oh please oh please I hope we get some dragon action up in here!!
Fav #6: YAY!! TENSION!! STAKES!!! CONSEQUENCES!!! I’ve been waiting for you!!! We needed to have met each other much earlier, my friends J
Needless to say… huge thanks to my editor Wendy who’s edits have inspired me to not only follow this project through, but to keep on going with the next book.
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