Speaking of copyediting (see post below), it's an interesting, sometimes frustrating, always important part of the process. The big picture stuff is done - the story is finally in place - and now it's time to pass the baton from editor to copyeditor - to put the final polish on the manuscript.
It never ceases to amaze me how I can read a manuscript 284 times and still miss things that seem so obvious when pointed out.
page 86: Willow looked down at Aggie's canvas sneakers. They were wet and muddy. One of them had a frayed hole in the side and Aggie's little toe poked out.
page 189: Then she put on her canvas sneakers with the holes in the side....
Copyeditor: So, which is it? One hole or more than one hole?
My thoughts: #@*%&
My words: Gee, good catch. Let me go back and fix that.
page 7: Then she moved on to pondering how she was going to fix that clogged drain in Room 4.
page 119: When Loretta's father finished fixing the clogged sink in Room 4...
Copyeditor: So, do you want to use "drain" or "sink"? They should probably be consistent.
My thoughts: #@*%&
My words: Gee, good catch. Let me go back and fix that.
How does she DO that? She is a genius.
It's those little, little details that put the final polish on. Lucky, lucky me to have such a fine polisher.
The devil is in the details.
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