Starting the Editing Process

Since finishing my novel (now titled Going Public) at the end of November, I haven't touched it. My fiance is reading it now, and making some notes as he goes, but I haven't touched it. I have read a few of his notes, and talked about it with him, but I can't read it just yet.

I have instead been reading  Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King. I have learned a lot from this single book, and it is sure to be an invaluable tool for me. Now that I am almost finished with that book, I will soon be reading and editing my novel. That's still a strange thought to me. I wrote a novel. An entire book that people can read. Granted, it needs lots of work, as I didn't edit much as I went along.

I know things that need work. I wrote it in present tense, and sometimes I slipped out of that. My dialogue mechanics need work, as does the actual dialogue. I also need to add some scene setting, showing more of what is around my characters.

Overall, I think I like the structure and story, so I can't see that changing much in the second draft. After I am finished with my second draft, I will have a few more read it to see what the strengths and weaknesses are before I do my third draft. After that, I will probably begin the long query process.

Until then, I will continue to tweet (@TperiodKyle) and blog to get my name out there and connect with publishing professionals (editors & literary agents), and my fellow writers (both published and unpublished).