We recently prepared the parsonage for our new minister. As I put up a new light fixture in the kitchen, the question arose, “How many Methodists does it take to install a light?” There were three main players and others who happily gave advice/joked about my progress.
I am putting the final touches on Airships from the North. I haven’t hired an editor for this trilogy, and I am fussy. My reason for not hiring an editor has nothing to do with the skill of editors I know, nor is it a financial issue. My problem is when I make changes editors suggest, I introduce errors to the manuscript. I talked about this in “Writer’s Recursion.” I am plagued with the ability to tell my fingers to press keys in a specific order only to have them type whatever they jolly well please.
My solution is to make multiple passes through the book. How many? I have not determined a sure number, but it is more than a dozen. There may be an algorithm based on how polished it is becoming, with mental exhaustion factored into the formula. The book is getting pretty good, and I am certainly tired of revision.
The last few passes are with Ruth going over questionable sections with me. I put the latest version on her computer, and she takes me through her edits. She is a plot maven. The blog article “Counting Horses” gives an amusing snapshot of our life during these moments. I sense a final “pass” is near when we debate changes she suggested, which I rejected—several times.
Then the book goes to our friend Donna. She is one of those people who notices a missing quotation mark or José using a contraction. (José never uses contractions.) My friend, Harlow, caught many of those in an early Critique Partner read. Of course, I have done major revisions since then, and José may be saying “can’t” once again.
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