Why I hate Editing . . .

by

Kathryn Elizabeth Jones

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I don't know about you but I hate editing almost as much as I hate cleaning out the bathroom toilet, or cleaning the blinds, or scrubbing the inside of the refrigerator.

Gross.

And though I realize that the best smelling bathrooms have been disinfected, and that my blinds look better when they are clean, and yes, my refrigerator even smells better after I've cleaned it, there's just something about editing that I hate.

Maybe it's the 'priceless words' that I must take out that don't contribute to the plot.

Or maybe it's the anxiousness I feeling getting my book 'into print'.

Perhaps I have readers anxious to read it, and some critiquer is taking an awful long time getting the book back to me

Maybe I hate editing because I can't edit just once, but find myself editing multiple times before I even hand it off to other proof readers or editors who may not like what I've written and suggest that I fix some things.

Or it could be I hate editing because I love writing, or prefer working on the right side of the brain rather than on the left.

Could be all of these reasons, and more. But just because I hate editing or having others edit for me, that doesn't mean that I don't do it.

There's something magical that happens to a well-edited piece of work. I'm not talking about a book that's been too edited, the kind where everything has been cut and trimmed to a quarter of an inch above the scalp. I'm talking about a book that's edited so that the writer's words do more than sit on the paper, yawning. The sort of words that flutter around and land on your shoulder for a spell, before they take off again to the mountain tops or the deep valley. I'm talking about a book made beautiful by the editing that's been done, not cursed by it.

Hopefully, I'm talking about my books, although I know that after multiple drafts someone might find a misspelled word.

Because I don't like perfection, either, and I don't think any book out there is so perfectly constructed, so perfectly in tune with God or ghosts or the underworld, that a few mistakes haven't crept in.

Yet another reason I hate editing, but continually do it because editing is part of being that awesome sort of writer others keep talking about.

And what writer doesn't want that?

Previous articles written by Kathryn Elizabeth Jones on WWBB: 5 Ways to Promote Your Book that You May Not have Thought of

Marketing Your Book on a Budget

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How does an author best get book reviews? What of interviews, blogs and social media? How can a new author expect to be seen while crowding the lane with other authors of his/her genre?

Marketing Your Book on a Budget is tiny for a reason; any author can afford it. But be prepared for the endless information enclosed. You'll never wonder again about the best ways to speak up about your book, get free advertising, or learn why postcards can help you get the word out faster and easier than any other way.

It’s easy to say you’re going to market your book, far more difficult to actually do it, but this handy guide will help you every step of the way, even while your heart is pumping wildly the first time you have to speak about your book to someone else.

Extract from Marketing Your Book on a Budget

  

Author Kathryn Jones

Author Kathryn E. Jones has been a published writer since 1987. During that time she has published fiction and nonfiction for teens and adults. As a marketer for the past 10 years, she has learned what works and what doesn't for the beginning author who is eager to sell his/her work.

Marketing doesn't have to be difficult and can be rewarding and successful through the simple marketing options presented in her newest creation, Marketing Your Book on a Budget 2013, and used by Kathryn herself. 

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