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Jacqui Jacoby on Edits and Giveaway!

Author Jacqui Jacoby shares about 'Edits' and she will giveaway an eCopy of her With A Vengeance!
Jacqui Jacoby on the web:

Every job has its share of dirty work.  The kind of work that doesn’t grab the imagination and borders on boring.  Even writing.  We have been pouring our heart and soul into this story, trying to reach The End, when it becomes time to face the dull part of the job.

Because editing doesn’t require us to be creative.  Instead of typing out the new story we are running spell check through a massive document to be sure we caught all the misspelled words.  We have to check to make sure the story worked, that the loops were closed and that every storyline had its conclusion.  And research.  Did we do it all or is there something missing that has to be looked up?

Reading a hard copy is the best way for me to catch mistakes. I put a printout of the novel into a three ring binder and then treat it like a book I just purchased.  It’s a bit big to carry around, but I manage. I curl up on my bed with it, turn on some soft music and start reading at page one while holding a purple pen.

I always a use purple pen.  Red seems too much like yelling to me.

Personally, I hate editing and revising.  I would much rather write a first draft of a novel when everything is fresh.  But it’s really quite simple. No one writes a perfect first draft.

It’s okay not to like having to do it … as long as you understand that you do have to it.  The agent or editor you are planning on sending it to, they are looking at many other submissions today.  Yours needs to shine above all these others; it has to be the one that sticks in their mind and make them crave more.

It’s part of the job, remind yourself.  Find some fun in it to make the job go easier .  Remember getting to The End is the real reward.



WITH A VENGEANCE


The more she wanted out, the more they dragged her back in!
Daughter to murdered CIA officers, niece to a deputy director, Jaime Walsh has never known life outside the world of espionage. Until a high-action case in Buenos Aires leaves her gutted. Physically, emotionally…and professionally.

She’d planned for her long-overdue vacation to be a time to rest and reassess. With her longtime partner Stephen not far behind, it’s a tropical paradise away from work. A paradise where boundaries will be tested.

From their training days, Stephen Reid has watched Jaime kick ass while performing what has become his second job—watching her back. But now his feelings have grown.

As best friends look at each other in a new light, they like what they see. And Jaime dreams of a new life outside “the company”.

Except someone from their past won’t be satisfied until Jaime and the man she loves are hunted to the brink of death. Now Jaime must find the strength to trust her heart and let go of her fear. Before she loses everything…


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31 comments:

  1. I love editing. I used to hate the first draft, but with my last book I spent an intensive month of planning, and the first draft pretty wrote it's self. :D

    Fortunately I'm both creative and analytical. It makes writing and editing so much easier.

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    1. Oh you are lucky!! To look at that first draft and think "Fun Ahead" LOL ... Good for you!!

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  2. I like the early parts of editing, but not the search and destroy parts.

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    1. I'm curious what the early parts are. Then I suppose each writer does it differently and my first part might be different than your first part. Either way, I'm glad you can enjoy it!!

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  3. Oh, I love the purple pen. Red is too mean.

    Editing is my favorite part. No more times where I wonder if I'll figure out where to go next. It's all there. I just gotta fix it.

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    1. It looks like I am in the minority with the not liking to edit. I think that's great that you can have so much fun with the home stretch.

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  4. I'm with you! The first draft is so much fun!!!
    I haven't tried printing it out - good idea - as is your purple pen! I don't ever use red (and I'm a teacher :))

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    1. I find that green or blue will work, too, in a pinch. But for some reason, I really do prefer that purple. Hope you enjoy the print out. It really does show things you might miss on the screen. =D

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    1. It's the best color to use, I think. Very relaxing when finding all those pesky corrections!!

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  6. I need to use purple pens. It's my favorite color!

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    1. It's even better that it's your favorite. If you can use your favorite it might make it easier to face the task! =D

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  7. I think editing is creative - just in a different way from writing the first draft.

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    1. I can see your point. You do have to continue to be creative if you are going to be rewriting scenes.

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  8. Editing is a lot of work, but it's always gratifying to see how much a manuscript can be improved!

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  9. Yes, that is true. To see that finished manuscript where you put in all that work, that is a very satisfying achievement.

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  10. I love to edit in purple pen, too! Editing is lots of work, but very rewarding in the end. Great post!
    ~Jess

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    1. Any kind of work that gets you to The End with a pretty finished manuscript is rewarding. Glad you enjoyed the post!!

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  11. I'm totally buying a purple pen today. How did I miss out on that cool trend? Thanks for the post, Jax!
    Hugs and happy writing
    Nancy

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    1. Purple Pens Rule Nancy!! Thanks so much for stopping on by. Good to see you here!! ~Jax

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  12. I might be weird but I prefer the rewrites to the first draft, because I see the story take shape. And I love editing because you can feel yourself getting closer and closer to the finishing line!

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  13. I enjoy revising, but editing slays me. I have gel pens in all colors if I want to edit with a hard copy.

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  14. Charmaine: It's not weird at all to like the rewrites better. Every writer has their own way of doing things and that happens to be yours!! Power to you! =D

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  15. Medeia: What do you see as the difference between revising and editing? I think of them both as part of the same process, but that's just me. Glad you do enjoy one of them! =D

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    1. Revising is when I hammer out the first draft into something I can call a tangible story. Editing is all the spelling and grammar I have to take care of.

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  16. Great tips, thanks Jacqui! Best wishes for the book release!

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  17. great tips here! I've always used a purple pen too. I think red is just too scary a color-especially since editing is already a scary task :)

    Nutschell
    www.thewritingnut.com

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    1. I agree totally Nutschell. I remember being a kid and getting those red marks on my school papers (shudder). Why do that to us as an adult when we have a whole rainbow to choose from!?

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  18. Hard copy is definitely the best. No matter how careful you are, you miss mistakes on a soft copy again and again. I also agree with the red pen theory.

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  19. I've heard that reading a manuscript backwards, sentence by sentence is also good as you don't read the story then. You only read the actual sentence. I've tried it a few times, but it sooo hard. I just go with the hard copy, read forward and go real, real slow!

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