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scrimgerr

Cut, Paste, Re-revise





No book news updates. We've dealt with Erin's substantive edit. We're still waiting for her to go over our revisions and put her qualified (‘for now’) stamp of approval on them.


Here's a personal learning update.


For those not in the business, edits are made using a tool called ‘track changes’ wherein you can see both the original text and the alterations. The editor puts a query in the margin (‘how can Sarah run home if she’s in a wheelchair?’)  You then emend the text (‘Sarah rolled home’) or reply to the query (‘It’s a dream sequence’).


I made my changes in the margin, replying to Erin’s notes. Melanie put hers in the text proper -- the tool strikes through the original so you can still see it.


Mel’s is the better way.  There. I admit it. (Is ‘admit’ the right word? You admit making a mistake, but is taking longer an actual mistake?)


I did not want to input my changes one by one. Cut and paste, cut and paste, cut and paste. Bleah! Let Erin do it, I thought.


But – and here’s why I’m writing this - I took a few minutes to quickly revisit my edits. And ... made some changes. Which got me thinking.


Every time you look at a thing, you see it differently. It may or may not change, but you do.


In the end I took an extra week and redid all my edits. Cut and paste and revise. Cut and paste and revise.  


Is the story ready to publish now? Probably not. But it’s closer. Right, Erin?  

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