Friday, March 25, 2016

Adventures in Editing

My favorite part of the writing process has long been the editing. Writing first drafts frustrates me. But during the editing I get to relax, build out the characters, the setting, increase the tension, etc.

So as part of my "who am I?" journey, I've dived into my first foray as an editor of someone else's novel. It's been scary. Lots of pressure to catch the obvious along with the hidden problems lurking in a manuscript. And I've learned one thing. Editors don't get paid enough. Editing is hard work. I mean, I knew it would be, but by the time my work day is over, my brain has turned to mush.

It's amazing to me how we writers can be so close to our story that we are unable to see the contradictions, grammatical slips, and vagueness that an objective pair of eyes can pick up on.

Whenever I subject my own stories to critiques at LegendFire, it's usually with a face burning with embarrassment that I read over the issues the critiquers found, as if I've been caught being less than perfect.

Writer's Disappointed Face :(

Why do I do that to myself? Probably because during the editing of my own story, I will think I've caught all the glaring errors and fixed them, only to see that, to my reader, the story still has shortcomings. Editing, I've learned over the years, is to benefit the reader, not the writer.


Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Falcons and Free Books

Cry of the Falcon is selling, and it's awesome to see the number downloads climb. Last night I received the final proof for the paperback as well, and it's gorgeous, so the print version is now available as well. Hurray! (may take it a couple of days to show up on Amazon)

Kicked that kid out the door, and he's on his own. Hello, universe! Sink or swim, baby.

So far, my baby is doing all right. The initial reviews are very promising, and I have no idea who posted any of them.

In honor of both digital and print versions being finalized, Cry of the Falcon will be available for FREE this weekend, starting Friday, March 4, through Sunday, March 6. Then again on March 12-13.

Woot! If you've read it and you like it, tell somebody.