Uhm….this is late. I’m late. But I have a good excuse! I was brain deep in edits. I got through 350 pages of what I call the “first sweep edits.” That one takes care of typos and minor fixes and/or changes of words or sentence structure. It’s done in a Word document using track changes and trust me, by the time I was through last evening, my eyes were crossed and blurry. And I’d totally forgotten that I didn’t have a blog ready for today. Oops.
Today, I’m going back through the comments made by a beta reader. I need to see what worked or didn’t work. Seeing a comment that says “Ooh! Love this line” or “Yes. Good twist” gives me the oomph I need to get through to the next level. What’s that entail you ask? That’s the hard part where something DIDN’T work for the reader and I have to decide how to fix it. Is it something that can be just deleted because it’s superfluous? Is the scene in the wrong place? Does that twist work or does it give stuff away? Technically, this pass is the nitty gritty. Emotionally, this is the pass that makes me wonder why the heckfire am I doing this. It’s okay. Don’t panic. This is a normal part of the process for almost every writer I know. We truly do have a love/hate relationship with our books.
The only thing I hate more than this part of the editing process is writing the blurb. I did get a first draft done. For something so short, it shouldn’t be so hard. But it is! *whine* Potential readers peruse the blurb and make a decision. The blurb has to be catchy with a hook to lure those folks to buy the book. It has to give enough information without spilling the beans. I mean, who wants a spoiler in a blurb? At the same time, the blurb shouldn’t make promises the book can’t keep. It’s a fine line.
Okay, I’m stalling. Time for more coffee, some eye drops, and then to open the MS and get back at it. On a happy note, I should soon have a cover reveal. Maybe tomorrow. 🤞🏼
How’s your morning/day going?
Silver James 
Ya know, I hardly ever think of putting ‘I loved this phrase/sentence/scene, etc.’ in my edit notes. I hope that doesn’t come across as not loving any particular part, because I do. I’m more of a ‘get it fixed so the whole thing shines as much as each awesome part’ kind of beta. I hope you know how much I love you and how much I love this book. As for the blurb, you know what to do. I already had some ideas about it anyway. :hugs:
The morning’s going fine here. Nothing much is happening. My stupid knee is still griping about the abuse it’s taken, so I figure I’ll take another day of not pushing it. It better quit its bitching by the weekend or I’ll show it what work really looks like. I got things to do. I hope your ouchy is better today. :hugs:
Nope. You just spread the love over the whole thing–while pointing out the holes that need darning. LOL And yeah, that blurb will be headed to my blurb guru soon! 😉
Stay off the knee until it’s at least 75% and then still take it easy. That’s an order. *shakes the mother finger*
It may be short and that is why it’s so difficult to write a blurb. So much to get across in very little space. I’m sure you have it down.
The morning has been spent doing more hubs medical stuff. The bill I got from the Cleveland Clinic has been resolved and the one from University hospital that they told me yesterday was resolved has been re-issued but for half the amount. Insurance is going to drive me batty.
Here’s to a good day for you!
I hope your day has gotten less stressy by now! Ugh. We’ve learned that various departments in hospitals don’t talk to each other and neither do insurance companies. It’s maddening! Hang in there! 🤗