I’ve just started my 2nd edit of Feet or Fins. It took me a while to start it because I had to finish from uni assignments. But now they are done and I’ve just reached chapter 2.
Sometimes I think that I won’t be able to gauge how good my editing is because I haven’t had anyone read it yet and they haven’t given me their input. I’ve only recently realized how important it is. In fact I can now kind of understand why some books can take a year to be published once a publishing house picks them up.
At uni I had an editing class where one of the assignments was to collaborate with another student so we could edit their work. It has really opened my eyes at the amount of work that goes into it. He has picked up things that I’ve never thought about either.
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While there have been times where I’ve been frustrated with how long editing can take, especially when my brain decides to abandon me, it only gets done when I push myself. But I like the feeling I get when I look at my novel and know that it is getting better.
Stephanie Haggarty 