Confessions of a Novice Author - Part Three

In this post, I’ll be focusing on the editing and marketing processes. By way of the pregnancy analogy I mentioned in Part Two, I guess you could call this the late‑term experience.

Editing

Before getting into the details, it’s important to note that in any art form — whether it’s a book, a movie, or music — there’s a natural tension between the creator and the reviewer. It’s no different in the software field. There, it’s usually between a programmer and a tester. I’ve worn both hats, so mentally, I thought I was prepared for working with an editor. Or at least I thought I was.

There are several types of edits, and normally a specialist is required for each. I had a developmental edit, a copyedit, and a proofread. There are others as well, such as sensitivity editing and fact‑checking, but they weren’t recommended for my project.

The developmental edit focuses on the manuscript as a whole — plot structure, character development, pacing, and consistency. This was a very positive experience. I learned a ton, and the time spent making revisions was absolutely worth it.

Next came copyediting, which is supposed to focus on adherence to the Chicago Manual of Style: grammar, punctuation, spelling, capitalization, and so on. It may also include basic fact‑checking, and as I later learned, it’s reasonable to expect a copyeditor to flag potential copyright issues.

I’ll get right to the point — the copyedit was less than a stellar experience.

The editor did the basic edits, but she also changed my voice by altering paragraph structure, which is totally unacceptable. And it wasn’t an isolated incident. She altered several dozen paragraphs, and worse, she didn’t track her changes. I had to use two monitors and compare, paragraph by paragraph, the version I sent against the version I got back. It took several days and was incredibly frustrating.

The copyeditor also failed to flag potential copyright issues. I had incorporated several quotes and song passages. In all cases, I had properly noted the authors, but I didn’t realize I could be liable for royalty fees. Luckily, I caught the oversight by asking AI.

Next came proofreading. This went very smoothly, and it was obvious I had a real pro at the helm. Her findings were impressive.

Marketing

This section will be coming soon — and trust me, there’s plenty to talk about.