The importance of binge editing
This week I've been what I call binge editing. I want to our my novel Jade in for the Conville and Walsh Word of Mouth prize, and to do that I have to submit a minimum 30,000 words.
I've only just finished the rewrite of the novel, and had planned to put it aside for a while and come back to it at the end of Januarh to do the edits, but this competition was too big a chance to pass up. Hence the binge edit.
I always read through the final version of a work out loud. One of my writing friends was horrified by that idea. "But you'll lose your voice!" he said. Ands, I do feel hoarse for days after I've finished the read-through, but I still think it's worth it.
For the Word of Mouth prize I'm submitting the first fifteen chapters of Jade, and I decided I wanted to read out loud the whole text in one go. I started at 6.30 in the morning. By 10.30 I have two chapters left the read, and I had to go out. I finished those chapters the same evening.
That kind of read-through is exhausting, but it's worth the effort. Going straight on from one chapter to the next gives me an idea of where the story flows - and where it doesn't. And it does another vital job. It gives me reassurance. I know that when I've done that red-through and fixed the last batch of alterations it throws up, I have a product the reads well and is free of glaring errors. If I'm extra-lucky, I'll have found every single typo too.
Binge editing is hard on the voice and demanding of time, but I believe it's an essential part of getting a manuscript ready for market.
I've only just finished the rewrite of the novel, and had planned to put it aside for a while and come back to it at the end of Januarh to do the edits, but this competition was too big a chance to pass up. Hence the binge edit.
I always read through the final version of a work out loud. One of my writing friends was horrified by that idea. "But you'll lose your voice!" he said. Ands, I do feel hoarse for days after I've finished the read-through, but I still think it's worth it.
For the Word of Mouth prize I'm submitting the first fifteen chapters of Jade, and I decided I wanted to read out loud the whole text in one go. I started at 6.30 in the morning. By 10.30 I have two chapters left the read, and I had to go out. I finished those chapters the same evening.
That kind of read-through is exhausting, but it's worth the effort. Going straight on from one chapter to the next gives me an idea of where the story flows - and where it doesn't. And it does another vital job. It gives me reassurance. I know that when I've done that red-through and fixed the last batch of alterations it throws up, I have a product the reads well and is free of glaring errors. If I'm extra-lucky, I'll have found every single typo too.
Binge editing is hard on the voice and demanding of time, but I believe it's an essential part of getting a manuscript ready for market.
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