As the draft process comes to the close, the most painful part of writing a book begins: The editorial process. And never has the pain of the editorial process been so vivid to me as this morning when I recieved Chapter 1 back from SpiderWorks and had a detailed chat on the phone. I should have known what was coming when he began the conversation, “You have an excellent style of writing and I can hear your voice coming through so I’m asking you to please not take personally any issues I might bring up.”
Wave the white flag. It’s all over. :)
Here’s a glimpse at page 1 of Chapter 1. Oh la la. Lots of work to do. Thank God I have thick skin. :-)
{ 24 comments }
Jesse 02.09.06 at 4:44 pm
is the whole thing like that?
Jesse 02.09.06 at 4:44 pm
is the whole thing like that?
Jesse 02.09.06 at 4:44 pm
is the whole thing like that?
Jesse 02.09.06 at 4:44 pm
is the whole thing like that?
Jesse 02.09.06 at 4:44 pm
is the whole thing like that?
Jesse 02.09.06 at 4:44 pm
is the whole thing like that?
Jeremy Wright 02.09.06 at 5:09 pm
… Doesn’t seem to bad. Nothing really substantive changed, yeah? I mean, I had 300 pages like that. My approach is to read it, and check 2 things:
1. Does it still sound like me?
2. Is it still on point, accurate, etc.
If it doesn’t sound like me, I rewrite it so it sounds more like me (without undoing the editor’s changes). If it isn’t accurate, I edit and explain why.
Typically, editors are really good. This is my 4th book project now. I think I’ve only actually gotten my back up 5-6 times total across all of them. It’s good to know when to stand your ground, but it’s unbelievable what a really good editor can do to a mediocre chapter, believe me.
A good editor will frustrate you during editing, but at the END of the book, you’ll read it afresh and marvel at how damned SMART you sound ;-)
Jeremy Wright 02.09.06 at 5:09 pm
… Doesn’t seem to bad. Nothing really substantive changed, yeah? I mean, I had 300 pages like that. My approach is to read it, and check 2 things:
1. Does it still sound like me?
2. Is it still on point, accurate, etc.
If it doesn’t sound like me, I rewrite it so it sounds more like me (without undoing the editor’s changes). If it isn’t accurate, I edit and explain why.
Typically, editors are really good. This is my 4th book project now. I think I’ve only actually gotten my back up 5-6 times total across all of them. It’s good to know when to stand your ground, but it’s unbelievable what a really good editor can do to a mediocre chapter, believe me.
A good editor will frustrate you during editing, but at the END of the book, you’ll read it afresh and marvel at how damned SMART you sound ;-)
Jeremy Wright 02.09.06 at 5:09 pm
… Doesn’t seem to bad. Nothing really substantive changed, yeah? I mean, I had 300 pages like that. My approach is to read it, and check 2 things:
1. Does it still sound like me?
2. Is it still on point, accurate, etc.
If it doesn’t sound like me, I rewrite it so it sounds more like me (without undoing the editor’s changes). If it isn’t accurate, I edit and explain why.
Typically, editors are really good. This is my 4th book project now. I think I’ve only actually gotten my back up 5-6 times total across all of them. It’s good to know when to stand your ground, but it’s unbelievable what a really good editor can do to a mediocre chapter, believe me.
A good editor will frustrate you during editing, but at the END of the book, you’ll read it afresh and marvel at how damned SMART you sound ;-)
Jeremy Wright 02.09.06 at 5:09 pm
… Doesn’t seem to bad. Nothing really substantive changed, yeah? I mean, I had 300 pages like that. My approach is to read it, and check 2 things:
1. Does it still sound like me?
2. Is it still on point, accurate, etc.
If it doesn’t sound like me, I rewrite it so it sounds more like me (without undoing the editor’s changes). If it isn’t accurate, I edit and explain why.
Typically, editors are really good. This is my 4th book project now. I think I’ve only actually gotten my back up 5-6 times total across all of them. It’s good to know when to stand your ground, but it’s unbelievable what a really good editor can do to a mediocre chapter, believe me.
A good editor will frustrate you during editing, but at the END of the book, you’ll read it afresh and marvel at how damned SMART you sound ;-)
Jeremy Wright 02.09.06 at 5:09 pm
… Doesn’t seem to bad. Nothing really substantive changed, yeah? I mean, I had 300 pages like that. My approach is to read it, and check 2 things:
1. Does it still sound like me?
2. Is it still on point, accurate, etc.
If it doesn’t sound like me, I rewrite it so it sounds more like me (without undoing the editor’s changes). If it isn’t accurate, I edit and explain why.
Typically, editors are really good. This is my 4th book project now. I think I’ve only actually gotten my back up 5-6 times total across all of them. It’s good to know when to stand your ground, but it’s unbelievable what a really good editor can do to a mediocre chapter, believe me.
A good editor will frustrate you during editing, but at the END of the book, you’ll read it afresh and marvel at how damned SMART you sound ;-)
Jeremy Wright 02.09.06 at 5:09 pm
… Doesn’t seem to bad. Nothing really substantive changed, yeah? I mean, I had 300 pages like that. My approach is to read it, and check 2 things:
1. Does it still sound like me?
2. Is it still on point, accurate, etc.
If it doesn’t sound like me, I rewrite it so it sounds more like me (without undoing the editor’s changes). If it isn’t accurate, I edit and explain why.
Typically, editors are really good. This is my 4th book project now. I think I’ve only actually gotten my back up 5-6 times total across all of them. It’s good to know when to stand your ground, but it’s unbelievable what a really good editor can do to a mediocre chapter, believe me.
A good editor will frustrate you during editing, but at the END of the book, you’ll read it afresh and marvel at how damned SMART you sound ;-)
Aaron 02.09.06 at 5:30 pm
Well when he told me that he got to page 2 and decided he needed to have a chat with me, that was the tell-tale sign. :)
Aaron 02.09.06 at 5:30 pm
Well when he told me that he got to page 2 and decided he needed to have a chat with me, that was the tell-tale sign. :)
Aaron 02.09.06 at 5:30 pm
Well when he told me that he got to page 2 and decided he needed to have a chat with me, that was the tell-tale sign. :)
Aaron 02.09.06 at 5:30 pm
Well when he told me that he got to page 2 and decided he needed to have a chat with me, that was the tell-tale sign. :)
Aaron 02.09.06 at 5:30 pm
Well when he told me that he got to page 2 and decided he needed to have a chat with me, that was the tell-tale sign. :)
Aaron 02.09.06 at 5:30 pm
Well when he told me that he got to page 2 and decided he needed to have a chat with me, that was the tell-tale sign. :)
Aaron 02.09.06 at 5:33 pm
@Jeremy–
No, there were some real changes. Not just fix a comma here, change a word there. There are some real substantive changes. It’s okay. He made alot of sense and now I’m going to go back and read every chapter out loud and make sure that how it sounds is how I would actually speak.
My speaking style is often different than my writing style and I tried to stick to a more formal dialect in the book. Dave shot that down, which was good of him because it allows me to speak more with my own voice.
Aaron 02.09.06 at 5:33 pm
@Jeremy–
No, there were some real changes. Not just fix a comma here, change a word there. There are some real substantive changes. It’s okay. He made alot of sense and now I’m going to go back and read every chapter out loud and make sure that how it sounds is how I would actually speak.
My speaking style is often different than my writing style and I tried to stick to a more formal dialect in the book. Dave shot that down, which was good of him because it allows me to speak more with my own voice.
Aaron 02.09.06 at 5:33 pm
@Jeremy–
No, there were some real changes. Not just fix a comma here, change a word there. There are some real substantive changes. It’s okay. He made alot of sense and now I’m going to go back and read every chapter out loud and make sure that how it sounds is how I would actually speak.
My speaking style is often different than my writing style and I tried to stick to a more formal dialect in the book. Dave shot that down, which was good of him because it allows me to speak more with my own voice.
Aaron 02.09.06 at 5:33 pm
@Jeremy–
No, there were some real changes. Not just fix a comma here, change a word there. There are some real substantive changes. It’s okay. He made alot of sense and now I’m going to go back and read every chapter out loud and make sure that how it sounds is how I would actually speak.
My speaking style is often different than my writing style and I tried to stick to a more formal dialect in the book. Dave shot that down, which was good of him because it allows me to speak more with my own voice.
Aaron 02.09.06 at 5:33 pm
@Jeremy–
No, there were some real changes. Not just fix a comma here, change a word there. There are some real substantive changes. It’s okay. He made alot of sense and now I’m going to go back and read every chapter out loud and make sure that how it sounds is how I would actually speak.
My speaking style is often different than my writing style and I tried to stick to a more formal dialect in the book. Dave shot that down, which was good of him because it allows me to speak more with my own voice.
Aaron 02.09.06 at 5:33 pm
@Jeremy–
No, there were some real changes. Not just fix a comma here, change a word there. There are some real substantive changes. It’s okay. He made alot of sense and now I’m going to go back and read every chapter out loud and make sure that how it sounds is how I would actually speak.
My speaking style is often different than my writing style and I tried to stick to a more formal dialect in the book. Dave shot that down, which was good of him because it allows me to speak more with my own voice.
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