EDITING/REVISION STRESS
I am, at the time of writing this, in the midst of revision for one project, and about to start the professional edit of another. It's been over a year now since I last went through a professional editing cycle and I'm actually kinda nervous about it. By the time I post this, it'll have already begun, and I'm hoping that the time away, the chance to work on revisions some more, will have made things better for the project itself. That said, editing and revision have never really been my favourite part of the writing and publishing process, so it may be that even with things running smoother, I'm still anxious as all hell about it. I just don't know.
For those of you wondering why I took a year off editing, I explained more here, but to recap, I was burnt out, I needed more time with the project and it made sense to take a year off, and to start afresh in 2022. I learned a lot about myself during the time off. I made sure that I still did some revision as and when I felt okay to do so, and I actually found myself liking some parts of the process itself. I also learned a lot about the way I worked and how I approached things, and that was a huge help to me as well.
April 2021 was the time I first opened INVISIBLE and started revisions for it. I wasn't sure what to expect, having just come out of a longer editing cycle than usual because of my need for surgery smack dab in the middle of things. I have spent that time working on it piece by piece and also had some sensitivity readers look it over for a number of reasons. I'll go more into why another time, but it's down to the massive amounts of disabled characters and wanting to portray them accurately.
And now, in May 2022, I am still working on it, it's actually out to betas right now and I'm hopeful about their feedback. It means that, for the moment, the only project that isn't drafting related is CRAMPING CHRONICLES: THE SECOND PANG, which is the book that was supposed to come out last year, and is now slated by release in November. I have worked hard on making the book the best it could be, but at the same time, I know my editors will catch something, probably a lot of things.
One thing you have to remember as a writer is that a lot of the time, no matter how many times you comb through the chapters and the pages, you will miss things. Sometimes they're huge, sometimes they're not, but whatever they are, it's better to catch them now before the book is published and out there for the whole world to see. I know as indie authors we can pull a book, edit it and then reupload it, but I don't like doing that. I don't think I have ever done that, bar catching the odd typo here and there. It's not something I want to do because the way I see it, the book should be ready before I hit publish. If it's not, then I've failed myself along the way, which is purely a personal choice thing.
I think something good to keep in mind when it comes to revision and editing is that the two are such a necessary part of the process. While you need to have the outside eyes look over your work to be able to spot plot holes and the like, you also need that feedback so that when you're writing something new, you maybe don't make those same errors. I know that there have been things my editors have told me not to do, that I've incorporated into my writing now. It makes for an easier time overall, and while it's a headache to go through, for me at least, it's also a good thing. It's what keeps the readers turning the pages, and what keeps them coming back time and time again.
So while I am a little nervous and anxious about restarting editing, I know that it's something that has to be done, and it will be okay. I want this book to be in the hands of my readers, and to do that, I have to keep going through the harder times to get to the finish line.
Any questions? Lemme know in the comments below.
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