There are some authors who believe writing is revising. I am not one of those, but I think that the longer I am in this business, the more I get there.*
This is my job, for the foreseeable future (i.e., the next few weeks):
While writing it, I joked to Sailor Boy that I often felt as if I was writing with a little Jane Austen at my shoulder. Well, now that I have the revisions, it’s more like this:**
Naturally, this is not “angel on one shoulder, devil on the other” — as my editor and Miss Austen are not in disagreement, and neither is attempting to steer me wrong.
And, if I’m honest, the actual situation is probably more like this:
As Stephen King says, you write with the door closed, and edit with it open. Since word of my book got out (and got added to Goodreads!) long before there was anything close to a real manuscript, and since, once word of the book got out, it became fodder for conversation on the internet and in and the forums of Janeites, that was a little harder to accomplish than usual.
But that’s a topic for another time. Right now, the topic is revisions.***
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* Conversely, there seem to be a faction of writers who believe that being a pro means NOT revising. I wonder if they would think I’m getting less professional as I go along?
** Yes, that *is* a drawing of Buffalo the Unicorn Slayer, made my the fabulously talented Daniel Jennewein. Why do you ask?
*** And my mad Photoshop skillz.
April 7th, 2011 at 10:53 am
Great photoshop skillz. ha =D
I like to think I have a little Jane Austen sitting on my shoulder as well, but in my head she’s comparing how similar modern society is to her society and we both chuckle at the similarities. Sometimes I have to be careful that no one is around when Jane and I share these secret discussions. heh heh
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April 7th, 2011 at 4:10 pm
You made Daniel’s day
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April 7th, 2011 at 9:24 pm
Lenore, he makes my day every time I look up from my desk and see Buffalo, so, it’s only fair.
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April 8th, 2011 at 9:05 am
Eeeeee, I just can’t wait for this book! Good luck with the revisions.
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April 10th, 2011 at 8:12 pm
I’m with Anna! Super-excited for this since I jumped on the Persuasion ship (I’m definitely still on the fence as to whether it’s better than P&P, though)…by the way, the 1995 Persuasion is, indeed, truly wonderful.
If I ever write a book (still a big if), it will definitely be revisions-heavy…I think I’m a much better substantive editor than writer…
Good luck! It’s good to see your face (and mad PS skillz!) again!
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