The editor speaks

Hi everybody!

First of all, thank you so much for all your interest in my new story! I’ve been having a lot of fun with it, and I really can’t wait to see where it goes. This’ll be a fun one, when it hits shelves.

The past two weeks, we’ve talked about both my reading and my writing—so this week we’re taking the logical progression and talking about editing. Because, you know, I’m an editor. It’s what I do all the time. But I also have to edit my own books, and at least get them to the first draft stage before anyone else at RAD gets a look at them.

Rani Edits

But how much time does it really take to edit a book?

How long does it take to get an edition of Mavguard put together?

How do I edit my own work and someone else’s, at the same time?

All very good questions, and questions I’ve gotten from several of you, over the years.

As for the first, it honestly depends on the book, as to how long it’ll take to edit it. If it’s a short book, it usually doesn’t take as long. Under 50,000 words can be edited in less than a month, especially if the writer knows what they’re doing and is willing to make necessary changes. But if it’s a rough first draft, that same 50,000 words can take three or four months, especially if the author is hesitant to make any actual changes to the story.

My books, on the other hand, usually take at least three months for the first edit, two months for the second edit, and a full month for the proofread/final edit. That’s six months of intensive editing, all because my books are really long. But I write fairly cleanly (I’m not saying that to brag; I genuinely write cleanly, and have since high school), so it’s not as difficult as some I've worked on.

Editing can be a tricky thing though, because you have to remember everything that’s been going on in the book and make sure that it all relates to each other, exactly as it should. You have to watch for plot holes and ensure the story is flowing properly—which is extra difficult when you’re working on something by someone else and something by yourself at the same time. Honestly, that’s where it starts to take me a little longer. I have no trouble working on two client pieces at the same time, but throw one of mine in the mix and it gets messy.

It’s just as hard as it sounds, to edit two books and write a third all at the same time. It’s even worse if I have an edition of Mavguard to work on too. I end up intensely staring at the computer screen, for which I’ve finally purchased myself some blue light blocking glasses (Woo! They really help!), for countless hours at a time. 

And of course, Mavguard also varies. Usually, it takes about a month to read everything, choose what’s going to go in the edition, edit it, and get it all laid out for print. I can’t really go into a lot of detail on what goes into it in such a short number of words, but suffice it to say, it’s a whole lot of chaotic fun that involves a lot of little edits which (thankfully) don’t take much time.

Editing is fun, for me. I enjoy it. That’s why I’m an editor. But it’s also a challenge, and one that I have no intention of ever giving up.

Have questions? Send them my way! 

Want more specifics? Ask away! 

I'd be happy to answer. :)

[love]

{Rani D.}