Editing Diaries #2
uh oh I finished and forgot to tell you about it
Whoops…long time no see!
For what it’s worth, I tried! When I hit the midpoint of edits, almost two months ago now, I wrote a whole post about it on the Substack mobile editor. Then I waited too long to post it, so the app just…deleted it. Gone. Bye-bye.
After that, I was a little too busy with the whole editing thing to write about the whole editing thing, not to mention a whole slew of other personal things that I won’t get into here. So I come to you now with Editing Diaries #2…the end!
The end of this round, anyway. More on that later.
How It Went
I mentioned in my original post that I was working on trimming some things and adding some others. On the trimming level, I think this was a pretty successful edit! The manuscript is tighter, and line-level cuts combined with completely axing THREE WHOLE CHAPTERS in the interest of keeping some character motivations cloaked in mystery (RIP, you will not be missed) means KINGFISHER has gone down from a little over 101k words down to around 93k. That number may change again in subsequent editing passes, but being under 100k feels pretty good to me for a YA Romantasy
There were two major revisions that took up the bulk of my time: a plot-level shift that meant small but consistent changes throughout at least half of the book, and a major change to the ending that leaves the door open for a sequel (ooh la la!). Both took a LOT of time and adjusting, plus revisits to old drafts from before I ever started querying, but in the end I believe the book is all the better for it!
What Comes Next?
The literal answer to this is simple: I send it to my agent, see what she has to say, and go from there! After that, I either go on sub or return to you for Editing Diaries #3 as I start round two of edits.
Of course, I’d be lying if I said I’m not nervous. I think the book is better, sure, but what if cutting those chapters caused more problems than it solved? What if the world-building additions I made aren’t enough to fully immerse readers in the world? What if my agent says I did everything wrong and need to start over, or worse, what if she says everything’s great and we go on sub only for editors to kick sand in my eyes, point, and laugh about how such an untalented swine ever thought she could write a book.
Not literally (I hope) but, well, you know. There’s very little about my writing in general that I CAN’T second-guess if I think hard enough. Perfectionism tendencies, my arch nemesis…
I can tinker forever if I let myself, spiraling and making little changes that probably don’t help me (or the book) any, so at some point, I have to grab myself by the shoulders, give a firm shake, and get on with it already. This is round one of edits. Just because I have some absolutely wonderful writing friends who can whip up perfect edits in two weeks (y’all know who you are) that doesn’t have to be my experience in order for my work to have value. Deep down, I think edits have gone well. I think it’s significantly improved by my work of the last few months. That’s the gut feeling that gives me the confidence to call round one done. But if the book needs another round, or two, or three, then I’ll take each one in stride! If there’s one thing I’ve learned from writing (and life in general) it’s that perfectionism is the enemy of progress.
So, as I polish off the last few touches and resolve the last few “INSERT GOOD WRITING HERE” comments I left myself in the document, I bid you adieu until next time! And if you’re also editing a book at the moment, or even just working on some other important project in your life…good luck and god speed!