Editing is HARD, plain and simple

Editing truly is one of the hardest things I have ever done. At times I doubt myself and get so frustrated I am near tears. At other times I wonder if all of this work is really worth it. But in the end my answer is always-- Yes, it is worth it! So I push through and keep trying to get something done everyday, even if it is just a little bit.

Today on Facebook an Author friend of mine posted about getting frustrated and discouraged over editing her book. There were so many fabulous responses to her post. I wanted to share my favorites  and also give a bit of my own advice on the subject.

1- Edit in layers. It's like taking baby steps. Make yourself a list of everything that needs done and then start working your way down the list. You may have to go through your MS several time but it eases some of the stress of having to make it perfect right off the bat. I currently have a list that looks something like this.
    Plot holes
    Pet words
    Punctuation

2- Persevere. Keep going. It's like all hard things in life. When you are stuck in the poring rain it is hard to see the sunshine behind all those clouds, but if you keep on walking you will eventually find it.  Writing a book is no different. At first it might need a lot of work but if you hang in there it will keep on getting better and better until finally it shines.

3- Sometimes you have to do some studying and learning to figure out all those grammar and punctuation errors and how to fix them. I had the amazing experience of attending the 2013 LDStorymakers Conference in Utah this year and all I can say is WOW! I learned so much! There were so many classes and helpful information taught by some of the most amazing authors ever.

So my first advice is find a writers guild or conference you can attend. I promise it will be worth it!

My second piece of advice; Buy Annette Lyons book "There, Their, They're: A No-Tears Guide to Grammar from the Word Nerd", Second Edition http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1484820665

 

I can not even begin to describe how helpful this book is. It breaks down the rules of editing in a way that is so easy to understand. I love how you can practically hear Annette talking to you through it, in a fun and cheerful way. It takes the boringness out of the "textbook" so to speak. It's laid out in a way that makes it easy to reference things and its the perfect size to keep beside your computer. In fact that is exactly where I keep mine so that I can reference it while I'm editing my MS. So if your struggling with editing go out and get this book. I promise you won't be disappointed. It truly is a 5 star book!

 

So there you have it! My advice on editing for the day. Hopefully it was helpful. Good luck with your work and remember to always keep writing!

~Nikki

    
   

A little about me . . .

A little about me. Hmmm . . . Well I suppose writing has always been a passion of mine. In high school I either had my nose glued to a book or my fingers to a keyboard.  I started dozens of stories that I never finished because another great idea would come along. I became pretty frustrated with myself and put writing away for awhile.

A few years ago I found it again. It was during a time in my life where I was very low and I needed a reality escape. And at first that's all it was, an escape but pretty soon my dream of becoming a published Author began burning within me once more and I started writing again, little by little, more and more. After my first novel was complete I thought "That's it! I'm officially an Author now!"

 I began sending out Query after Query and receiving back rejection after rejection. Once again I became very discouraged and put my writing away again.

Then last fall after I couldn't stand not writing anymore, I picked up it once again. But this time instead of writing a fantasy novel/ paranormal romance I decided I needed to change my genre. I started thinking about how in church we are encouraged to use our time and talents to bring forth the kingdom of God. After all that is where our gifts and talents come from and we need to use them for his purposes. So I picked one of those high school stories that I began writing so long ago. It was a topic that I have always been very fascinated with and have grown to love very dearly . . . The LDS Pioneers.

By December my book was well on it's way but I was still very discouraged because of my first attempt at getting published. I wasn't sure I could bring myself to go through all of that again. That's when I had the privilege of meeting Jennifer Ann Holt in Deseret Book. She was there selling her own book Delivering Hope. I asked her what the trick to getting published was and explained that I was also an Author. She was very kind and told me to never give up. She explained more about the Query/ Submission process and gave me a lot of good advice in the few minutes we talked. I of course bought her book which is just fantastic, just so you all know, and then went home to ponder what she had told me. 

I started with about 20 pages or so and have since turned those 20 pages into 233 pages. It's been a long process and I'm still in the editing process but I hope to be able to start submitting my book to publishers in the next month or so.

You may be asking why on earth I've decided to start a blog in the midst of all of this. My answer is easy. I have learned so so much and I am still learning. I will be the first to admit that editing is my biggest weakness. Because editing it is so hard for me, I have really had to push myself and study hard to learn what I need to know in order to complete this book. I just want to share what I've learned and hopefully help and encourage someone else who may be struggling with their own writing. I've had a lot of help along the way and I hope that I can provide that same kind of help to someone else.

I'm not certain how often I will post but I already have a lot I want to share. So make sure to check in every once in a while to see what's new. I wish you all the best of luck with your own writing journeys and pray that we may be able to become successful writers together.

~Nikki