As I work through editing my manuscript I’m receiving e-mails from my two main critiquers. Both are a-m-a-z-i-n-g women who help me out SO much. From pointing out my naughty habit of using ‘was’ followed by a word ending in ‘ing’ (wrong tense for those of you sitting there blankly *grin*) to suggesting I use a word other than ‘grinned’ *lol*.
*Sigh* thank goodness for the find function in Word!
I do occasionally have a giggle at some of the comments (‘the girls sound a bit immature’ – *hee* THEY ARE! They deal with the big issues maturely then have great fun teasing each other like 5yr olds) especially when I keep butting heads over a comment which eventually points out that I haven’t made it clear enough..oops.
But then we hit some obvious differences in styles. One loves descriptions of food/clothes/places etc and the other finds it boring and unnecessary. The other however loves full hilt romance stuff which really doesn’t wash well with me. It brings me back to the point ‘remember your own voice’. So at the moment I am working on adding a little more detail (which I originally editing out *doh*) and reviewing the romance scenes (yes that’s right, I said romance scenes ). And I keep getting MAJOR butterflies. So nervous about releasing it and SO SO excited!! The cover is starting to look really good and soon I hope to add it to my re-done synopsis page (which has been removed if you hadn’t noticed) under the slightly fuller ‘blurb’ than above.
I just really want people to enjoy the story. To laugh at it and to love it.
So must get it as close to perfect as possible!
I'll all turn out great in the end. Just go with your gut. You know what its supposed to sound like. =)
Edge of Your Seat Romance
Sounds to me like you are well on your way. How lucky are you to have two wonderful critiquers! Enjoy.
It's great to have thoughtful critiques but at the end of the day – it's your voice that must shine through!
Good luck and all the best! Take care
x
Good for you in remembering your own voice. We can't please everyone, and trying would drive us nuts! lol
It is SO important to stay true to your voice and craft – but if you do it well, I think you can reach more people. A bit for everyone, but still true to yourself. 🙂
No matter what other people tell you THEY think you oughta do, you DO need to keep it true to YOUR vision, or it ceases to be YOUR book.
Congrats, Nicole. Keep up the good work. I look forward to hearing more. It sounds like 2011 is going to be a great year already.
-Jimmy
How very exciting! Congratulations on your progress!!
That word find function in WORD really is a lifesaver.
Ann Best, Long Journey Home
Hey, you're reaching the home stretch! The biggest thing that matters is that you like it at this stage. Eventually people can critique it like crazy, but it's still got to have you.
So excited for you! I hope everything goes smoothly in the rest of the process. 🙂
Big congratulations on your progress! Exciting times, no? Except maybe for the revisions… The word "was" sure is sneaky. 😛
Thanks for all the awesome words of encouragement – makes me all teary when I'm in such a brain frazzeled state – it'll all be worth it!!
one thing comes to mind, "too many chefs spoil the broth." Just remember you are the author.
;-}
I think it's awesome to have CPs with different tastes–you can assume your larger audience will, too, so it lets you better test the waters! Best of luck in the final stages!
I agree that critique partner input is amazingly helpful – because no matter how many times we read and re-read, we miss/forget things.
Jan 1 is coming fast, so good luck with all of your editing. 🙂
Editing can be both fun and frustrating. It's great you've got helpers. Of course, you are the final editor! Go with what you truly believe.
Woo hoo! It sounds like a great story Nicole! I can't wait to see the finished project when it comes out. And crit partners rock! =D
p.s. Thanks for visiting the blog today. =)