The Road Here
Mar
24
2006

I’m working on edits for a book I’m targeting at NY. It’s a werewolf book with a romantic suspense plot. This book has been with me for a while. I love this book. It did however, need to be tightened up.

It occurs to me as I’m working on it, just how much my writing has changed and you know, when people say that ebooks won’t get you anywhere I have to argue. What epublishing has done for me is make me a better writer. Period.

Each time I go through a round of edits, I get better at my craft. I either learn how to argue for myself in a coherent fashion or I learn how to make the words better and more comprehensible. Each new book I finish is cleaner and takes less tweaking than the last. My worlds are stronger, my POVs are stronger (and less jumpy), my sentences tighter and more active.

I’m a long way from perfect copy, but I’m a long way from the writer I was when I hit send on Triad, too. I had no idea then what this business was like. I had a story idea and I put it down on paper but the road from there to here has been filled with new experiences and so much learning.

This is sort of a ramble but happily, I still love my book and it’s better now for the excess tweaking and editing. Even better? I’m better now for the work. Not that I love editing, cause I don’t. Really, I don’t. But I see how necessary it is and I do it. And the end product is better for it.

2 comments to “The Road Here”

  1. Melany
    March 24th, 2006 at 2:30 pm · Link

    It is a learning experience to go back and read stuff you wrote earlier. And I hope with each edit we get better at honing the craft and stronger writers. It’s a great outlook to take.

    Lany



  2. Charlene Teglia
    March 26th, 2006 at 12:33 pm · Link

    Amen. I learned more craft from my edits on my first EC book than all the books and classes on writing I’ve ever taken. It was a huge learning exerience and I’ve been able to apply what I learned to everything I’ve done after that. I’m a better writer and a more marketable writer because of EC. And the experience gained in how publishing works, how the business works and how to promote myself, that’s invaluable too.