one aspect of editing

 

For more than four months, I've been working on re-editing my Arizona historical romances. Because we needed to pull some, in order to have title changes, we decided to pull all eight in that series, re-edit and add onto them, as well as give them all new titles. Amazon said we must then bring them back as new books... 

To avoid reader confusion, I was not comfortable with that, but it's currently the only way when you know your titles are not working for the books. Amazon is following ISBN requirements. It makes sense but just a surprise-- if you don't read your emails.

So far, I have done four and am just finishing the fifth. I have actually enjoyed it since I hadn't read them in a long time-- and I feel I am a better writer today. In writing, you always improve-- if you keep writing. I also came up with some ways to add to their stories without losing the basic plots but instead elements to make them feel more complete and that there is something new.

We are in no hurry to put them back, as we attempt learn more about what launching a book should have meant when we originally brought them out beginning in 2013. There is so much I still do not know about the marketing end of books, but turns out there are a few things on writing that I also have had to look at.

For instance, using the word just too many times is a no no. I use it a lot in my ordinary life-- i.e. just in time, etc. etc. But writing is not so much about fitting what is 'ordinary' but instead what is readable to others. Yikes. I could see where I'd used it, and it wasn't needed. Other places it was better than writing a whole lot more words when one would do. I think I have cut out half.

I am going to ignore a few other rules that are claimed to be important-- like not using adverbs. I am not sure why a word that modifies a verb is bad but a word that modifies a noun is okay. I am going to keep my adverbs, as often to get rid of them would lose meaning or require too many other words. I also believe too many adjectives for a noun can seem overdone, but I was never fond of heavy usage of either. It can become humorous.

Another word the editing gods don't like is very. Often a different word will do but sometimes it doesn't fit the action. Other times, it's a word less people would know when romances are not supposed to be written with a lot of big words, words that often are perfect, but less known. Romance readers don't want to read their books with a dictionary in hand. 

Maybe I should say most as I've read their writing should be aimed at an eighth grade level for readability. At one time, eighth grade was pretty advanced in knowledge (I've seen what once an eight grade education meant-- good luck with passing such tests today). Now, who knows what even a college degree means for vocabulary. If it's dialogue, of course, then it depends on the background of the character.

For a while, I am going to be writing, in this blog, about the whole process of putting together books. The next one will involve a question that is of interest to me. I will though get more into the issues of editing-- as I know it.