Editing Your Self-Published Book

True for many authors the editing process for a new book consumes as much or more time than the actual writing. Crafting my first fiction novel, “The Motivator”, I underestimated the commitment editing would demand of my time. I thoroughly enjoyed the process, but it was extensive nonetheless.

Each time I returned to a previously edited chapter something new would catch my eye, a missing comma, minor misspellings the word processer was never intended to catch, an inflection point critical to my protaganist that I had failed to develop. The types of correction aren’t important in the end, the craft of writing imposed an internal truth, the desire for my readers to wander blissfully through the story without annoying pauses – pauses to interpret my meaning.

Several wonderful people in the multitide of Facebook author groups provided excellent advice, especially for a first-timer. Always, and I stress always, order a print copy of your new title and perform yet another edit. As I reviewed “The Motivator” in print, their expert advice rang true. I found a few additional changes that I incorporated, as well as exposing the book to a good-old-fashioned grammatical beating. We both survived, for the better I’m sure.

I am driven to write, editing keeps that gift honest.