Editing

I sent my second children’s book away to be edited some time ago, something I hadn’t done with my other one.

My first task was to simplify some of my words – well beyond a young one’s comprehension, I was told. I think in some ways, I was trying to write a book that adults would actually enjoy reading to their kids, rather than a lot of the drivel that is out there. But at the end of the day, I accept that the kids have to like it too.

I always find it fascinating having the grandkids to stay and the books they select to read each night before bed. I have a fairly large selection here. Their choice is not always what I would expect. I have one particularly beautifully illustrated book, which they show absolutely no interest in, even when I pick it out for them.    

I am on the third take of this latest children’s book, after about a month-long break between the last edits. I received an email telling me the editor was moving and would get back to me when he was ready. In the meantime, I had made a couple of changes myself and decided to send these through rather than waiting for his return edit. This drew an immediate response and I had my third edit back within a couple of hours.

I think I finally understood what he had been trying to get me to do from the beginning. He wanted my first stanza to introduce my character. I had made two changes to this opening paragraph, but it wasn’t until this time that I understood. And further down, we had differing opinions about the pronunciation of a word, important because it needed a similar word for its rhyme. I ended up removing all reference to that word completely, as it seemed to make more sense to do this. After all, I am the writer and can interchange words as I please. And then there was the title. The one I wanted to use is already in use on another book. I had added the now-deleted word to that title, to make it different from the other and have come up with a completely different one which I hope will be acceptable. In this latest edit I have condensed a couple of verses, rewritten another, reinstated another and added a further one. Lots of changes. But that’s the way it goes. Once one makes one change, then often changes are required further down the story. I hope this latest will meet with satisfaction. I am holding the changes before I send them through, so that I can run over them myself cold, always a good time to pick up hiccups in the rhythm.

I am pleased I have sought the expertise of a professional this time around too. I am sure it will help the overall state of the book.