Editing HIDDEN: Step 7 - Finishing the First Edit & Writing the Last Chapter

Yes, you read the title correctly. At the end of the first full editing pass, that's when I write the last chapter. Often, that's when I write the first chapter too. With Hidden, I wrote the first chapter when I hit the halfway point of the book.

The first and last chapters should be a mirror of each other - presenting/solving the main problems. If it sounds simplistic, it is. Doesn't mean it's easy, but it is really is that simple.

On Monday, I wrote the final chapter of Hidden, tying up loose ends that relate to the main plot. Not every loose end. If you're familiar with my work, you know I tend to write series. Hidden is the first in a new series, so of course there are going to be a few mysteries left unanswered (and, yes, I'm making notes of those for the next book).

After completing that chapter (and doing a quick editing pass), I did a search for all of my tk notations. I replaced all of the tk notes with the word or name that actually belonged there. Then I ran spell check. That may have elicited a resounding "DUH!" but you'd be surprised how many times I've sent a doc to editing without running spell check. Not because I don't believe in it, but because I get so excited about someone else reading that I totally forget to do it.

What's next? Well, now I am 30% relieved the first pass is done and 70% scared everyone's going to hate it. I think that's normal. Right? *laughs nervously*

Once those edits come back, I'll start on my second full editing pass.

XoXo,

Megg

Want to enter contests, win swag, and be told the moment my books go live? Sign up for my newsletter HERE. Thanks!

Editing HIDDEN: Step 6 - Dealing with Multiple POV

Thanks to everyone who entered my contest this week! I'll contact & announce the winners next week. :)

Before getting down to editing, just a quick notice - my second trilogy, The Swarm Trilogy, is on sale this weekend. Sleepers is FREE, Afterlife is 99 cents, and The Sundering is $2.99. If you don't have them yet, now is a great time to pick them up.

Okay, on to my next editing step.

This is a new step for me! HIDDEN is the first novel I've written in 3rd person with multiple points of view. When I sat down for my first major edit, I realized the second half of the book was out of order! The chapters didn't line up properly with the timeline.

You're probably thinking I pulled out my note cards for this task. Nope. I laid out all of the remaining chapters on the floor and sorted them into the proper order.

Why didn't I use my note cards when that clearly would have taken up less space? Cliffhangers.

My note cards gave plot basics. However, I wasn't exactly sure which chapters had the biggest cliffhangers and every good writer knows you switch POV right after a huge cliffhanger. It's how we keep readers engaged!

Here's what my floor looked like while I worked on it ... and Tanu approved!!!! (She's looking on curiously in the bottom right corner).

It's back to entering edits into my master document now that the story is actually in order. ;)

Happy editing!!!

XoXo,

Megg

Want to enter contests, win swag, and be told the moment my books go live? Sign up for my newsletter HERE. Thanks!

Editing HIDDEN - Step 5: The First Major Edit

Yesterday I sat down with my manuscript and began editing. Content editing, mainly.

I love editing as much as I hate it.

It's amazing to take a rough draft and sculpt it into something publishable. At the same time, the amount of work that goes into revising a first draft is HUGE. For me, it is the longest, hardest, most painful part of the entire process from first idea to hitting the publish button.

Since I began HIDDEN more than a year ago, it's changed drastically. I need to almost completely rewrite the entire first act.

This does not make Megg happy. It makes Megg very grouchy.

For the foreseeable future, I'll be buried in those pages with a red pen and a purple highlighter. I'll be cursing and crying, and I'll likely quit a million times. Then I'll transfer to my computer with the damaged and beaten manuscript in my hands. Slowly I'll make all of those changes. I'll rewrite the ugly passages. I'll fill in the missing pieces.

And when I'm done, that's when HIDDEN will fly through the internet to my first editor.

How long will all of this take? I don't know. I worked for nine hours yesterday. I may slip in even more today and tomorrow. I could be done by Friday. It may not be until the week after. I just don't know. I'll work my butt off until it's done.

If you want specifics, here's what I'm looking for in my manuscript in this pass:

Any/all grammatical errors
Repeated words/phrases
Correct character names/spelling
Awkward sentences/phrases
Proper timeline
Chapters in the correct order
Story flow
Continuity
...pretty much anything that isn't perfect must be ripped to shreds

Wish me luck!

XoXo,

Megg

Want to enter contests, win swag, and be told the moment my books go live? Sign up for my newsletter HERE. Thanks!

Editing HIDDEN: Step 4 - Declaring WARS

Now that I have all of my note cards labeled, it's time to declare WARS.

W - Want
A - Action
R - Resolution
S -  Surprise

I'll be analyzing the chapter description on each note card to make sure it aligns with my WARS strategy.

Everyone in publishing says to keep your stories tight. Leave out the extraneous junk, right? The WARS strategy, coupled with the note cards, helps you do this.

W - Want: Your character should want something in each chapter. Have a goal in mind to propel them forward. That's much preferred to reading about George,

Courtesy of Microsoft Office Clipart

sitting in a blue armchair, contemplating a squirrel. Unless, of course, your plot has something to do with the zombie apocalypse and an infected squirrel, which just happens to be George's focus of study.

A - Action: Once you know what your character wants in the chapter, take some action! George slips into his super-secret infectious disease lab hidden in his basement. There, he constructs a trap, designed to capture the squirrel while minimizing risk to himself.

R - Resolution: Resolve your character's want. George sneaks outside, sets an acorn in the trap, waits...and...SUCCESS! George has trapped the infected squirrel and he can now begin studying the virus.

S - Surprise: Don't let your reader relax. Everyone loves a good page-turner. End each chapter with some kind of lead-in to the next. It doesn't have to be a complete shocker or cliffhanger each chapter, but give your reader a reason to keep reading. You know what's coming, right? Poor George, despite all of his precautions, he gets bit by the zombie squirrel.

This is a critical step in the editing process. Not just because you want to make sure your chapters have proper internal structure, but also because this will affect everything coming up next.

What happens if you declare WARS on a chapter and you can't identify all four aspects? Look at what came before, or what comes next. Sometimes you can combine chapters and sometimes you need to rethink the chapter completely.

Once you've successfully completed these steps for each chapter, you'll find you have a solid base for the next step in my editing process.

XoXo,

Megg

Want to enter contests, win swag, and be told the moment my books go live? Sign up for my newsletter HERE. Thanks!

Editing HIDDEN: Step 3 - Labeling the Note Card

In Step 1 I told you part of my first editing pass included writing the theme of each chapter on a note card. Despite multiple distractions, I was able to complete that over the weekend.

I started HIDDEN in the fall of 2012 and wrote in spurts around my husband's double spinal fusion (which was a very stressful time and not conducive to creativity). Much of the first quarter of the novel was a bit fuzzy in my memory. Over the past weekend, I did a lot of skimming to remind myself exactly what was happening early on. The later chapters were a breeze.

I wanted to show you how I label my cards before telling you what I'm going to do with them.

 Blank, white, 3x5 note cards are my favorite.

Okay, so in the upper right corner, you'll see a 1 and a T.

The 1 indicates the corresponding chapter in my text. I also marked the top right of the printed chapter with this number so it'll be easy to cross-reference later.

At this point, all the note cards are in numerical order. That won't be the case forever. And, it doesn't mean note card 1 is Chapter One. It just happens to be the first chapter I cataloged (I used to be a curator in a museum - some organizational habits die hard - I catalog everything).

The T refers to the POV (point of view) character. Since this is my first novel with multiple POVs, I need that to be indicated as well.

The blue blob is my description - well, it was until I took a picture and put the blob over it. Can't give away anything about the plot yet.

The back is blank...for now.

Seems simple, right? Note cards are easy, just a little time consuming when you're going through an 80,000-word manuscript.

Okay, I'm off to start Step 4. I'll fill you in on that tomorrow. :)

XoXo,

Megg

Want to enter contests, win swag, and be told the moment my books go live? Sign up for my newsletter HERE. Thanks!

Editing HIDDEN: Step 2 - The Power of TK

The Power of TK

Do you struggle with getting your drafts done because you get lost in details or are you desperate to finally finish NaNoWriMo this year? Never fear - I have a tool for you!!!

Unless you're a journalist, it's possible you've never heard of tk.

Courtesy of Microsoft Office Clipart

Not everyone knows, but I spent ten years as a freelance journalist. Don't bother Googling for my articles. They are under my real name. Part of the reason I chose to use a pen name was to keep my two jobs completely separate. So far, it's worked. I mean, really, who wants to Google my books and end up with articles about baby poop?

Early on I learned the power of tk. Meaning "to come," tk is used as a placeholder in an article when you don't have all the info you need. TK is easy to see in a manuscript, whereas "to come" might look like normal text and be easily ignored.

And even though tk was around long before computers, it's awesome because there are very few English words where T and K are next to each other, so it ALWAYS shows up in spell check.

Handy, right?

Now when I write books, I'm a fast first drafter. I don't let anything stop me when I'm in the groove.

New character and I can't immediately come up with a name? tk
Don't know the number of years that have passed since a certain event? tk
Want to be more descriptive about a sword, but need to research it? tk

See where I'm going with this? You never have to stop again while drafting. Put in your tk and move on. You can always do your researching, naming, math, whatever in editing.

Now that I'm in editing mode, it's time to clean up all of those pesky tk notations in my manuscript. If I don't find them while I'm reading the text, spell check will be happy to point them out to me.

If you're still writing, you want to focus on getting the story down. The nitty gritty can come later. Besides, you will never have a book to query or self-publish if you don't finish it - trust me, tk will get you there.

More editing tips next week! Have a great weekend, everyone. :)

XoXo,

Megg

Want to enter contests, win swag, and be told the moment my books go live? Sign up for my newsletter HERE. Thanks!

Editing HIDDEN: Step 1

People are always asking me about my editing process - as if there's some big mystery surrounding how I take my crappy first draft and turn it into something I'm proud to query or publish.

Since I'm starting my edits on HIDDEN, my upcoming fantasy novel, I thought I'd blog about it as I go, so you can see how I edit.

Keep in mind, editing isn't the same for every person. Each writer has their own process and concerns.

My first confession: I edit on paper. I know, I know, in the digital age, I should be saving trees and editing on my computer.

Believe me, I've tried and I can't do it.

When I edit, it helps to look at the manuscript from a different perspective. I like the feel of paper in my hands. I like being able to rearrange chapters as I go. And, most importantly, I love having lots of colorful editing supplies. It's the twelve-year-old girl in me. ;)

 I'm not just going to dive in and hope for the best. The first editing pass will be very technical. I'm going to write character descriptions (what they look like, how they act, goals, traits) and along the way I will write the theme of each chapter on a note card. You'll see what I do with those note cards later.

That's it for my first pass. No line editing whatsoever. I need to make sure my structure is sound before I worry about the text.

Ready? Set... EDIT!!!!

XoXo,

Megg

Want to enter contests to win swag and be told the moment my books go live? Sign up for my newsletter HERE. Thanks!

Editing as an Indie Writer: Twitter Requested Topic

See that picture over there? Yeah, that's me. Well, my red hair is past my shoulders and I would never be caught dead wearing a green shirt, but the implied curse words, exasperated expression, and crumbled pieces of paper? Yeah, that's TOTALLY me when I'm editing.

I put out a call on Twitter for blog topics and ME Summer (@mesummerbooks) said: How to self-edit a story so well that it's as if it has been edited by a professional. #blogpostideaforMegg



So how do I edit as an indie author? Here's my process:

I write my novel, usually in 30 days (I like the NaNoWriMo method), and then I let it simmer for a few weeks. Then I print it out and edit by hand, with a red pen naturally. I enter all of those changes back into my document and retitle it Second Draft.

YAY! I'm done and ready to go to print!!!! Right? WRONG!

Then I send that copy out to various beta readers. As can you imagine, I have about a zillion writer friends. At this point I usually know what my novel's kryptonite is. Could be story, flow, timing, grammar, whatever. I choose beta readers specifically for their skill set. Some readers will be a beta on one book and not another. It's not because I don't like them anymore, it's simply because I know their skills and use them to my advantage.

Oubliette, for instance, just came back from four betas. You'd be surprised at the breadth of their comments. Except for a few missing words here and there, their comments were completely different! I print a fresh copy of my manuscript and I use my red ink pen to mark all of the corrections on that one copy. Then I enter all of those in my manuscript and save it as Fourth Draft.

YAY! I'm done and ready to go to print!!!! Right? WRONG!

Then I ship my book off to at least two people who proofread. I enter those mistakes into my text, read it one more time, and then it's off to print (well, after extensive formatting, but that's not relevant in this blog post).

I don't take editing lightly. In fact, editing takes far longer than the writing does. Writing takes 30 days, editing can take months. This is why Oubliette, which was originally supposed to release this month, was pushed back until the end of June. When I did my first round of edits, I slashed 10,000 words - one-fifth of my novel. Then I rewrote it. I refuse to release a product I'm not proud of. I know some readers were disappointed they had to wait an extra month to read Oubliette, but trust me, it's totally worth it.

Editing can make, or break, a novel's success. Never rush through it. Never.

Chapter One of Oubliette is a Little Bitch

Yeah, sorry for the language in the title.

Moving on...writing the first chapter of a sequel is a pain in the ass.

First chapters should be exciting without info dump, right? But when you're writing a sequel readers need to be reminded who everyone from the first book is while being introduced to new characters while maintaining excitement while setting the scene while moving along quickly while sucking the reader in.

Huh, don't know what I'm complaining about....it sounds easy! ;)

Luckily I have fantastic readers/editors behind me and with their suggestions I'll be able to pull Chapter One together neatly. I need to finish soon - I promised a few book bloggers the chance to read an ARC of Oubliette. During launch week near the end of June they'll be reviewing the book (which is the scariest thing I've ever done because if they all hate it, I'll just die) while I run a contest in conjunction with the release. This time I'll be giving money to a charity very close to my heart - but more on that in the coming weeks.

Happy Thursday!

Megg

The Ugly Side of Me

I'm a writer, so I obviously live a glamorous life. I spend my days curled up on a chaise next to my infinity pool. My state-of-the-art Mac rests on my lap while I happily type in my latest novel (no need for editing, naturally). My butler keeps me hydrated with endless iced tea, with lemon and a dash of sugar, and my pool boy...well, you know what pool boys do best. ;)

Or....maybe I hog every spare second I can find between shuttling my kids back and forth to school (three times a day because the youngest is in preschool) to write. My hair is always in a ponytail and makeup applied in less than one minute. And a pool? Yeah, that's the pee on the floor from my schnauzer.

It only gets worse - when I write I need to be alone. I can't be bothered every three seconds with requests for, well, anything, or I completely lose my train of thought. I can't write at the library because I sing, loudly and off-key, with my writing music while I type. Oh, and I don't just type - I pound on the keyboard. The more tense the scene, the harder I type. I prefer to work in long blocks of time, five to six hours, and I do not want anyone to call me. Twitter, however, is a needed and necessary distraction.

Oubliette is out for edits. I'm trying not to think about it being torn to shreds by some of my dearest writer friends. In the meantime I'm gearing up to write the third book in the Cloud Prophet trilogy. I need to finish the first draft before the kids are out for summer or I'll be totally screwed. My kids don't go to sleep away camp. I'm blessed to have them at my heels 24/7 during the summer.

So if you see me, avert your eyes. I'm the ugly troll stomping through town, hair askew, snarling at everyone who passes - until I finish that damn first draft. Then I'll turn back into the smiling, sarcastic princess everyone loves so much.