Hello, my friends and the occasional relative! How many times can a book be finished? Many many times. Given that, I have finished making the final proofing corrections. So from my perspective the book is done. I will still read it again, because the last thing I did was a specific word check, and as …
Tag: Proof reading
Progress and Star Trek
Hello, my friends and the occasional relative! 19% of the way through updating my manuscript for the last time. Not long now, and I’m extremely ready to be finished with it. Having said that, I’m very pleased with this last pass – final improvements have been made. This is why writers can tinker forever – …
Escape Velocity Achieved, New World Sighted.
Hello, my friends and the occasional relative! I did not remain in editing hell, my friends, though I am grateful I visited, because I fixed two small issues that came out on the multiple repeated passes I made as I chased some words and phrases through the text. In short controlled bursts. One would have …
Continue reading Escape Velocity Achieved, New World Sighted.
A short controlled burst of Editing Hell
Hello, my friends and the occasional relative! It was just a couple of things, honest. I have opened the door to editing hell. I was just checking where the eyes were, none glued to anything inappropriate in the text, as can sometimes happen. I checked because I was reminded of Don McNair’s book on Editor-proofing …
Finished Again. The to do list before publication begins.
Hello, my friends and the occasional relative! Guess what? I’ve finished my book again! Yes folks, I completed my proofing read through today. I can’t lie, I changed the odd sentence here and there, and some physical descriptions for clarity. I still have a few notes to clarify, 14 to be specific, (been there before, …
Continue reading Finished Again. The to do list before publication begins.
Finances and fitness: it’s not a sprint
Hello, my friends and the occasional relative! This week finds me breaking out of one funk, and cognizant of another. First, I have been doing a close reading of the manuscript, and have been noticing the little things that need to be addressed: small fixes for flow. Read 90 pages today, found one misplaced ‘and’ …
I’ll think of a title later… (The Procrastinator’s Credo)
Hello, my friends and the occasional relative! This has been a week either of failure, or of tremendously successful procrastination. I can’t lie, I have done not a thing on the book. I opened the file a few times and glanced at the legend ‘Chapter 1’, but then looked away. Why? Well, last week I …
Continue reading I’ll think of a title later… (The Procrastinator’s Credo)
Fighting off a body blow
Hello, my friends and the occasional relative! Procrastination and doubt. I have written about doubt before, in a series I think. It was quite a long time ago. I thought I had compartmentalized my doubt: not exactly put it away, but perhaps contained it. I felt confident I had developed the tools and the knowledge …
Reading aloud to the Demon of Perfectionism
Hello, my friends and the occasional relative! Okay, so the copy edit is complete. One more hill climbed, another mountain ahead. I have started the read aloud proofing pass, and am 5.5 to 7% of the way through that, depending on criteria chosen. No graphical representation employed. So far I have added and removed equal …
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The Writing Life: I got the re-read blues
Hello, my friends and the occasional relative! How many times shall I read thee? Let me count the ways. Again. Minor advice column for writers this week. Lessons learned from my own repeated experience as a fellow traveller in the writing trenches. Copy editing progress continues. Depending on how I measure it I am …
Roderick T. Macdonald 