Goodreads Authors/Readers discussion

You can never have too many eyes reading your manuscript before publication. Preparing my collection of Growing Up and Other Stories today for formatting as my first eBook, my editor noticed I'd typed the same title on two separate stories. Just a typo ... But I missed it on three separate readings, and so did she until it caused a deal of confusion for the cover designer. Crikey! Does this ever happen to you?

I realised that the whole way through, I'd numbered every chapter as '1'. I don't know how I did it, and I don't know how I missed it on three separate proof reads. I felt like an absolute idiot!

I hate editing so much. Often I find I get character names mixed up.

My copy editor found that I had switched the names of two characters. Several times.

I love editing. It's my favorite part. Not that I'm great at it. Still hire an editor when I'm finished. But I love that the pressure is off to get the story complete and then you just get to polish.

I thought very naively I could do without editing (not having the right money for it as well), and was devastated to get the comments regarding my inconsistent and illogical writing. So many things turned out to be unclear or just wrong, but were perfectly all right for my eyes (also on three separate readings). This certainly speaks of me as a poor writer, but still I would advise anybody to edit their manuscripts before publishing. I just wish I had done it before.

I get friends and family to read after I've read it again. Then after a few months at the least, I read it again and find many faults. This time period of separating yourself from your story, is essential and helps exceedinly.

I'm in complete agreement. It took me 6 months to write the first draft of my novel, Last Call for Caviar, http://www.lastcallforcaviar.com , and another 8 months to edit, rewrite, and prune away the deadwood, with the help of a very talented content editor, and a professional proofreader. I hired the best editors I could afford. We writers have a tendency to fall in love with our words--each and everyone of them. It takes an unbiased pair of eyes to see what needs to be reworked,and where. Big shout out to Fredrick L. Greene and Jane McAdams, for helping me shape my bloated manuscript into a novel.

Jason wrote: "I realised that the whole way through, I'd numbered every chapter as '1'. I don't know how I did it, and I don't know how I missed it on three separate proof reads. I felt like an absolute idiot!"

I'm sorry to laugh but I thought it was really funny. I could picture myself reading your book and thinking I was loosing it because I thought I was starting over and over again.

My very first book, Blood on White Wicker had been "professionally edited," then published. Several people who ordered it pointed out some mistakes and I corrected them and re-published. about once a year I go back and read all my books and fix things that were missed before. That first book has be edited about thirty times now and I'll bet I could find something if I went throught it right now.

Elizabeth has a very good point. It's important to give the manuscript, like yeast, time to "prove" itself. I've just finished Part One of a three part book, and coming back to the early chapters to revise them thoroughly, I was able to see more clearly where there were gaps in the story, flaws in the writing, and especially the need to better realise the character development of my soldier's wife. There were also other passages where the text worked as I hoped it would, and I was pleased with what I'd written.

I might add that I always show my wife the work as it's progressing, chapter by chapter. She's my best critic. If she doesn't understand it, then other readers won't. I also give it to military historian friends and my neighbour, who is a doctor, to read for military and medical accuracy (I have to deal with the aftermath of a gas attack in 1918).

On the topic of getting others to read your manuscript..... does anyone want to read my manuscript in 3 or 4 months time?