By Barbara Copperthwaite
Everyone
works differently, and it’s important to find your own way of writing, a way
that works for you. For me, though, I like to think of the process of creating a
book in the same way as creating a person from scratch. It is literally a body
of work in my mind’s eye, and that thought helps me differentiate between the
processes involved.
First
draft: skeleton
The first
draft is a little like a skeleton and major organs. Get this right and there is
a strong base for everything else. Once you’ve finished, step back and try to
look at it as a whole. Are there bits that are in the wrong place and need to
be moved around? If a leg is in the wrong place, the person will fall over; if a
part of the book is in the wrong place, it could make the story fall too.
Second
draft: fleshing out
With the
second draft, I am adding muscle, nerves, veins and arteries. I am ‘fleshing
out’ with all the wonderful detail that gives depth to a story and brings it to
life.
Third
draft: liposuction
Next will
be draft number three, where I cut out extraneous material – a bit like
liposuction for the body of the book. From paragraphs that add nothing, to
tightening sentences, to cutting repetition, every single word should work hard
and have a reason for being; no flabby bits allowed!
Editing:
the beauty treatment
Finally I
will be busy with the editing, a sort of beauty treatment: think deep cleanse,
exfoliation, and moisturiser that will make the skin glow.
Although I
am an indie publisher, I always use a professional editing service. It’s
expensive, but it’s the only way to produce a quality product. No matter how
good you are, no matter how full of praise/suggestions friends and family are,
they can’t do the job of a professional editor. I’ve been a journalist for over
20 years, and worked my way up to being an editor of several national
magazines, so I know all about proofreading, what makes a good story, pacing,
copy editing, etc. I’ve done it to other people’s copy for years. And that’s is
why I pay someone else to look at my work: because I know the importance of
using expert people to carry out specific jobs.
By the time
I send the book off to my editor, I’m exhausted, and the time they take looking
at it is both a welcome break away from the book, and a painful exercise in
patience (not something I am good at).
At this
point, the edit is about big picture stuff. Weakness in pace, plot,
characterization, timeline issues etc are highlighted, and suggestions made.
Don’t get defensive. Don’t think that they ‘just don’t get’ your book. Do read
what has been said, take a deep breath, and read it a second time. Go for a
walk, read it a third time, and put the whole thing aside for another week.
Only then should you start work on making the changes. It’s good advice, given
to me by my editor, and it works.
Together,
we are polishing my words, checking for mistakes, and getting everything just
right so that the finished product is as close to perfect as it can be.
Proofreading:
the Spanx of editing
Your novel
has a great body, has been buffed and polished, but to be really certain of
perfection, run it past a proofreader. They will spot all those annoying
repetitions that you think you took out, but actually missed half of them, the
typos that your eye glides over, and a myriad of other things. It’s the final
‘tightening’ of your copy.
Clothing
your creation
Of course,
as an indie author, now my book is finished I shall have to work on the cover,
and that's the clothing, hair and make up of the piece. I’m getting my book
ready for her party, trying to create something eye-catching.
Hopefully,
she turns into the belle of the ball – and not Frankenstein’s monster.
About Barbara Copperthwaite
Barbara
Copperthwaite was
raised by the sea and in the countryside, where she became a lover of both the
written word and the great outdoors. When not writing feverishly, she is often
found hiding behind a camera, taking wildlife photographs.
Her
fascination with crime really began during a brief spell working in a men's
prison, and only grew when she became a national journalist and editor. Now she
is using her twenty years’ experience of writing to create novels.
Both of
Barbara’s psychological crime thrillers, Invisible and Flowers For The Dead,
have been Amazon best sellers.
