Editing Evaluation

(and some elephants)

So it is probably a good time for me to fess up and admit where I am, which of my plans I've met and which I haven't, and how the process is going.

For the fill-in, for those who are new around here, I have a Cozy Mystery due to my EDITOR December 31, and my intention is to have it to my AGENT November 1 (so while she has it, I can WriMo—see how sneaksy I can be?) and then I will be able to address HER changes in December. But my INTENTION is to get an earlier draft done with enough time for peer readers to have it—in August *cough * Yeah. That happened.

But maybe instead I will give you the timeline and details of what DID happen.

Book: finished writing: August 3rd or so (on time, though I have added almost a full chapter and 13,000 words after the ending of that time) (A-) The additions are to be expected in editing.*

Finished TYPING: Oi, this is where I always underestimate: August 20, or thereabouts... I always think I am barely lagging, but the typing took WEEKS extra. (D)

First edit: (cleaning it so I can just read the darned thing) Finished around the end of August, because I couldn't DO part of it until I finished typing the darned thing... and then IT went slower than I hoped, but smoothly other than that (B)

READ through... this was intended to be JUST a read with maybe some note taking and no editing. (FAIL) I am thoroughly incapable of reading without editing, but I kept to the less major edit... other than the new ending... (F)

BIG edit: This actually has gone pretty darned smoothly—I really like the big twists I've added. I have a few of these on a sheet of paper that have yet to find homes, but most of them are IN and finding COMFORT and making the story better! (A-)


Next polish: this is my attempt to clean up the editing scars from my additions and changes, and to find homes for those last few points that I like so much. I am half way through. It is a cleaner read than last time and I can really see the progress I've made so it makes me happy, but MAN I'd like to be done so I can send it on! (B)

*A mystery, I find, is a trickier plotted animal than suspense, and so it actually made a lot of sense to finish the skeleton first and then add in some of the detail... trailing details... though I ALSO had at least half a dozen twists I'm really happy with that just didn't OCCUR to me until I'd finished and was trying to piece together such nonsense as the motivation.