• Home
  • Books
  • Rants n Raves
  • About
  • Art Credits
Elbie Free

No Pain, No Gain

9/7/2012

 
Recently I read an article about the pitfalls of self publishing by Mette Ivie Harrison on Orson Scott Card's e-zine. Since I have just been through a two month intensive revision her words really rand true with me.

"My biggest concern over ebooks is the message that is being sent to aspiring authors that now they can skip the entire process of learning the craft of writing, getting rejected over a period of years, and then at last writing a book that is worth being paid for. I feel that they are also missing out on the back and forth honing process that happens when working with a very fine editor over a year or more of revision. Not only have errors (typos, name changes, time continuity issues and the like) been caught and corrected by a copyeditor, but I have never published a novel which I was not glad to have had a chance to work on with an editor. My books are simply better than they would have been otherwise."

I know my story is at it's best because I have run it through the gauntlet of a developmental editor and I am really glad for it. I think my story was good before, but I knew it could be better. With the advent of You Tube and reality TV our 30 second society has given many of us delusions of grandeur and that hard work is something to be avoided at all costs.

I am really happy that a person's writing can be sent out into the world in a matter of minutes, but there is a lot to be said for rewriting and revision, not to mention the intentional pursuit to improve your writing. Finishing a first draft is amazing but my favorite part of writing is actually when I get to go back and dig deeper into my characters motives and actions. It's a whole new level of discovery. Hard work does pay off. Dive in.

Comments are closed.

    RSS Feed

    Author

    If something comes up, I'll put it here, otherwise find me on FB and Twitter.

    Categories

    All
    Aliens
    Art
    Bonus Material
    Book Review
    Characters
    Cosplay
    Critical Thinking
    Doctor Who
    Fiction
    Fortune Cookies
    Friendship
    Humor
    Movies
    Philosophy
    Physics
    Quotes
    Random Thoughts
    Rant
    Reality
    Recommendation
    Science
    Science Fiction
    The Singularity
    Time Travel
    Ufos
    Wake Up!
    Writing

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    January 2022
    October 2021
    September 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    February 2021
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    April 2020
    January 2020
    October 2019
    July 2019
    March 2019
    June 2018
    May 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    October 2017
    August 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012

Proudly powered by Weebly