Working on Copy Edits
This phase of the novel if fascinating. I’m on page 355 of 508 manuscript pages and I’m surprised by the sheer number of typesetting marks I’m finding. Almost none of them are for me to do anything with, which is interesting. I keep turning each page, hoping that it will be clear of red marks. So far, no luck.
Mainly it is things like using an m-dash instead of a double hyphen. I use the double hyphen instead of an m-dash in all my work since it’s what the short markets put in their guidelines.
Also, I seem to be perpetually short on commas. The copy editor is using the Chicago Manual of Style, so I don’t always have the same formatting history as required. Not concerned, really, but there are things I will be changing in my final draft of my next novel, that’s for sure.
I only had 5 pages of editorial queries, which seems pretty light. That’s one page for every 100 manuscript pages. Could be much worse, I’m sure. For the most part, I’m changing per the suggestion, but every now and again, I keep that sentence fragment, or misuse of a word on purpose.
Dialog especially is prime areas for creative license. Not too many of those so far.
I should finish the edits by tomorrow sometime, and then I’ll photo copy the lot, package it up and get it ready to mail.
As tomorrow is a holiday, it will wing its way back to New York on Tuesday. Lucky for me, it’s not due back to them until the 18th.
This is turning out to be both educational and enjoyable. Copy edits engage a different part of my brain than any other piece has. Closer to my day job way of thinking, then the chaotic creativity of drafting fresh story.
And definitely teaching me ways to improve the manuscript once the story is in place. Next novel I want to find whole swathes of pages with no marks.
I think I can do it.