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Blog 8-6-12

Perspective

Recently I have had the first thorough professional edit of the galley for Murphy’s Troubles.  My publisher uses the unique process of producing a hard copy galley with artwork so that I received a faux book.

To see my manuscript look like a book is a very heady experience for a first time author like me.  I admit that the first day after I received it in the mail I just looked at it.  I knew that I had to give myself three full days before I would have the discipline and objectivity to look at the edits in the margins.

When I did look the editing was about story, consistency, point of view and believability.  I suppose I was expecting something more like copy editing.  The edits were meant to sharpen and polish not only the writing but the story.

I also received an electronic document of the galley and I decided to print it and read it front to cover with the notes from the faux book galley by my side for reference.  One comment that appeared frequently was – repetitive, readers already know this.

This comment forced me to step back and take the perspective of a first time reader and I found that the editor was right.  I have the habit of repeating material because from the character’s perspective it was part of the story.  From the reader’s perspective – once that’s there it’s there.

For example, the motivation for Ian’s joining the IRA is the death of his best friend.  I repeated that scene no less than four times in the novel with some minor variation on the reason for relating that scene.  While that approach worked within the novel, from the character’s perspective, it doesn’t work at all from the readers’ perspective.

As a result I cut about 20 pages and I think it’s a major improvement.  You would think that a writer would always have the reader in mind – I didn’t and maybe that’s part of being a novice.  Preparing a manuscript for publication is an amazing learning and creative experience.