Some of you may know that I have written a novel which I fruitlessly have been trying to get published. Because my granddaughter was with us for a year and a half, I let the manuscript lie untouched during this time.

Now for the past two months I have been tackling my book again. It is really interesting to reread something you've finished writing two years ago. I am discovering so many mistakes, poor formulation, bad grammar…you name it.

The book is 40 chapters long, so I am working on it chapter by chapter. By mistake, I redid a chapter…that I had already 'supposedly' corrected and found further mistakes. - Oh nooo.

Honestly I bow loooow to every author on this earth. My passion is writing; but that sure doesn't suffice to write well, I guess.

What I would like to know from the published authors here is; how often did you reread your book, edit it, let it lie…do it over again…before you took that crucial step in self publishing or finding an agent? And have any of you, after publishing the book, thought..- yikes…how did I miss that mistake? Why didn't I word that differently…?
Geez. Seems like editing never stops.

But the good side about this…is…..I had a dream last night. Eagle Heart, are you reading this? I dreamt about you. I dreamt you read my manuscript. I was sitting in the adjacent room while you were reading. I couldn't stand it any longer, and went to you, and asked how you like it. You looked at me, beamed, and said, "I love it…I'm already on page 130!" And that was after about 5 minutes reading! Lol. I guess that's what you call wishful dreaming.

No not wishful thinking..but achievable..dreams are powerful.
One thing I notice re reading poems or essays is how we are a work in progress. essays sometimes surprise me..they are really good and I am lazier now.
also I have observed that we have the right time and place as a catalyst for reading..then we are in the Zone.
brings me to think that my favourites are such that they keep me in that Zone.

so the book will flourish if Eagle read so many pages..believe so

One of the things that most writers never do is get a good editor. Why, is beyond me. The most important thing you can do for your work is have it read over by a professional editor who will give you concrete inputs and criticisms. Professionals do not want you to fail; quite the opposite. But hear me out when I say, "YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!"

I had my own book read by many. One, by a trusted friend who didn't blow smoke up my skirt. She was very good but did not have professional training for grammar and other things. But nonetheless, she was available at the time and helped me tremendously get the editing off to a good start. Then another trusted friend...two more...then it was done by a professional editor and unfortunately, it STILL had mistakes.

Why? Because I chose an editor I thought would be good, yet I could afford at the time. I knew he wasn't exactly in the same field...but what the heck, right? Wrong!

While he was a good editor, his expertise was in technical writing, not fiction or humor. So BIG lesson learned there. While he was good with grammar, he wasn't good with ALL grammar...and many other things.

You will never catch all of your own mistakes because you read what you think it says, not what it says. You know subconsciously what you wrote, so regardless of how long you've "walked away from it," you'll never catch them all.

My advice? I couldn't emphasize this enough. Get an editor that has a proven track record and has been doing it for eons. Get an editor who is IN the business of editing whatever genre you are in, not selling camels on the side, they are in the biz of EDITING. Get an editor who will graciously give you past clients to talk to in order to gain valuable insight into their skills. Get one you can't afford NOT to get. DO NOT GET MAMMA OR A FRIEND AND THINK THAT WORKS. IT DOESN'T.

I've known authors who pay anywhere from 1200-3000 to have their manuscripts edited...and I've known authors who paid 2 or 3 hundred. The editor does NOT have to cost you a month's rent to be efficient. Do they have the right credentials? What is their degree in? Camel Sales? How long have they been in the biz? What do their clients say about them? Are the books they've edited along the same line as your own? DO NOT TAKE THEIR WORD FOR IT. CHECK THEM OUT!

The difference in the editors YOU hire should be their SKILL LEVELS and BACKGROUND. And don't check with two or three of their clients. CHECK WITH ALL OF THEM.

Do you think I'm shouting? Good then. Because I am. This is one of the most important steps you'll take in this process. Make it count. I wish someone would have taken me by the ear and pulled me aside before I began this journey. Now all I can say is....lesson learned. I'll never forget it.

Edelweiss, who am I are to argue with an expert?!! I'm delighted that I could help, if only to bring a sunbeam of assurance into your dream.

As for rereading and editing - ad nauseum - and yes, now I cringe at some parts of my book because I'm older and so much wiser now and would deal with some subject matters quite differently.

One of my tricks was to break the book up into sections and only read a few chapters at a time, then put it away for a few days, then come back and read the next section, always overlapping from the last chapter of the last section I had read previously - i.e., if I had read chapters 1-5, amending and making it all cohesive, then the next time I would read chapters 5-10, and the next time 10-15, etc.

My biggest problem, and it's even worse now, is my memory. If I read a chapter today, I cannot remember having read it tomorrow. So I can't remember if I've repeated something, or kept the cohesiveness. This has been a terrible problem for me for many years, to the point where it's one of the reasons I can't work anymore, I simply cannot remember instructions or anything unless I either write it down (and remember to read what I wrote) or know the process/requirements so well that I don't have to remember.

It's also why I can't play piano anymore. I've been playing since I was nine years old, have played in concerts, church choirs, etc, etc all my life. But now I can play through a piece of music that I've played all my life, and suddenly forget how to play, not just the piece, but the notes themselves. I sit at the piano and cannot remember how to find the note - this is actually the first time I've ever told anyone about that memory loss. I have to really concentrate on remembering - write lists, notes, post things on the fridge, tell hubby so he'll remember. Nobody but me knows how serious it actually is.

Okay, so that was a long-winded sidestep from topic! Sorry. I began to go there to explain why I have to overlap the chapters in order to watch for continuity and cohesiveness.

I'll come back and share more as I think of it. I'm touched that you had a dream of me...

PS to add to JJ's comments; I did edit it myself to a point, but then knew that it was essential to hire an editor, and graphic art expert too, as we got closer to publishing. I was very fortunate to find an excellent editor at a reasonable rate. She didn't know me, but would phone me and ask me if this particular section was supposed to be that way (ie, was this 'my voice', or a mistake). She gave excellent advice, most of which I took and incorporated into the book, some of which we both decided against because it would have changed my voice too much. Hiring her was the best gift I gave myself, and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again.

Same with the graphic artist, who was the one responsible for putting all of that edited-and-perfected work into an eye-pleasing format...we actually had to go back and reword many paragraphs all over again, once we saw it in its final format, because of orphaned words and/or sentences. He's also the guy who designed my cover. He read my book so many times, and called me to discuss parts of it, not so much for editing purposes, but to get to know ME...when he came up with the design cover, I was awed by how well he "got" me and the essence of my book.

The two together (editor and graphic artist) cost me a lot of money, most of which I'll never recoup because I printed more books than I could sell - that's another story if you're interested - I only wanted to print 1000, but was sort of strong-armed into printing 1500 - I've sold/given away close to 1000, but will probably never get rid of the other 500. Another example of the consequentces of not listening to my own instincts.

In the end, you do have to follow your instincts, but you can end up also paying a price for not following the advice of the professionals. For me, insisting that the book be my story in my own voice rather than following the formula that mainstream publishers demand meant the difference between being accepted by a recognized publisher and having to self-publish. But if I had chosen the other route (which at the time I equated to selling my soul), it would not have been my book or story anyway by the time everyone else had it changed to suit their tastes, so what would I have gained?

JJ, I think that is exactly what I needed to hear. Thank you for your excellent advice. I will be following it. Especially your words; "You will never catch all of your own mistakes because you read what you think it says, not what it says."…Oh yes, that hit home.

Eagle, after reading your post, I had to leave my computer and think about what you had to say. It threw me through a loop to read of your problems. And frankly, it is so very hard for me to believe. You are one of the most eloquent writers here. Your posts are well thought through. I never detected any errors, (not that I was looking), - but I know that I usually have (ahem) lots of typing mishaps myself. Your poems were beautiful and intelligently written. How are you able to be so creative, and still have such problems as you described?

You said, "this is actually the first time I've ever told anyone about that memory loss."

… And you have had this problem for years? Well, dear Eagle Heart, it is good that you are now sharing, and not keeping this to yourself. You know we are all here for you to help you in any way we can. You must have consulted a doctor about your memory loss. Isn't there anything he can do? I know there are medications that can help, even slow down memory loss. Do you take any of those?

Can you still read music? I was never good at memorizing piano pieces. You know, another thing that I have noticed is that talk show hosts, news reporters, and many radio hosts stumble over words all the time. They think nothing of it, and correct it immediately. But when we do that, we think,…oh oh…am I losing it? We are so bombarded with all kinds of illnesses that can come with age that it's no wonder we get paranoiac about it. I'm not belittling your problem,…not at all,…I'm just saying that maybe we read into normal aging things,…more then what they are.

In any case, dear Eagle Heart, I am glad you shared your problem with us. I'm sure it wasn't easy for you to put this down into words. I'm sure.

Please dear friend don't give up. Don't give in…and sharing is the first step.

Edelweiss, another suggestion, if you have time, is to join a critique group where the level of writing is generally high (you'll figure that on your first day.) My group has been invaluable to me because not only do I get different viewpoints, but members have different areas of expertise. For instance, the last crit one person referred to me as the group's grammar expert, and someone else said "if Meredith says you're too wordy, you're too wordy" -- but I rarely have comments about plot development or characters, unless something is glaring. However, other writers there can nitpick plots like I never could. Even if you only go to a few meetings, you'll get an idea about how much needs to be done.

I want to add, about genre: certain genres have specific protocols about what the book is "supposed" to contain (or not), and agents who represent these genres may look for those formulas. That's another reason to find an editor who knows your genre (if you have a genre). However, a critique group is good precisely because everyone writes in different genres, which will tell you how your book plays to the larger public.

EW, before i read the others' answers, I'd like to tell you that it took me many re-writes, revisions, 2 editors, and I still find typos. They are small, such as "gong" when the word should have been "going." I had 190,000 words on my first draft. I found an editor with great credentials: he'd been a ghost writer for Gloria Steinam, amongst other high power authors. I interviewed him in person, because I wanted to be sure he could handle the content of my book, ie. child abuse. I also have spiritual concepts in my story, so I was hoping for an editor who would give those concepts careful treatment (vs a pagan heretic atheist who might X those spiritual principles) It turned out that he went to the same church I went to at the time, only we never bumped into each other because we went to different times. He charged an appropriate fee, and I got way more than I bargained for, like an entire course in proper English, ie. the difference between "lay down" and "Lie down." I liked all of his suggestions... and ended up with a more readable 93,000 words. When I went back to him to hire for a second edit, he couldn't take me on again because he was backed up with projects for a year. I didn't know if I had a year to wait, as by then I learned I was stage II cancer. So I found yet another editor, not equal to him, but fair enough. She said that my copy was "virtually grammatically error free." And she made more suggestions, which I followed. Then it was a do or die thing: I had to get this book done if it was the last thing I did because the chemo was enough to kill me, not exaggerating. So I researched print on demand publishers, and the rest is history. However, to this day I find typos and other bothersome things that I would change if I re-published.** There is a story about an art museum in Europe. A funny looking old man was staring at Picasso paintings as they hung in some huge famous gallery. The staring was so intense it made the security guard take note. Then, the funny looking man started to take the painting off the wall. The security guard came a running. It turns out that it was Pablo Picasso himself. He saw what he perceived as a flaw, and he wanted to dismantle the painting to make the correction. ***Now I'll see what the others have to say....

EH, first of all, I am sorry for the memory loss you are experiencing. I bet it is quite frustrating. Second of all, I reiterate what you say about publishing. I had the attention of a traditional publisher. She said she'd pitch the story to the committee, if I would make the end the beginning and the beginning the end. "Start with who you are now, and then go back to the suicide attempt." I tried and I tried, yet I could not do as she said. The book begins with the end of my life, and ends with the new beginning. That was my voice, that is what happened, and I stuck to my decision. I also had the attention of another publisher who wanted a first run of 5,000 copies. Something did not sit right. Where was my audience for those copies? Another example of trusting my instincts. He was a snot to deal with. I don't regret those decisions, but then again, I don't care about my rank on Amazon, I only care about the readers who email me with their voice, finally spoken. Sometimes we have to know that the rewards are not the growth of a bank account, but personal growth, yours as well as others. Meredith has a list of resources on her poetry site. I'm sure others here do too.