This past month has been an interesting month for me from the writing standpoint.  After completing edits and revisions on my short story TEMPTING FATE with the hope of finding a place to publish it, I’ve delved into editing my first book in my Demon Hunter series.  I’m only about twenty-five percent of the way through and I found myself thinking about all the books I’ve ever read.

Editing is a vital part of making a good book stand out with the reader and make it memorable.  Sure, I’ve read books by my favorite authors and found an error or two now and again, but it seems trivial when compared to the book as a whole.  On the flip side, I also know from experience that when there are a lot of editing issues, they stand out and make it difficult to really enjoy a book.  That was what my first book was like.  Lots of inconsistencies and errors that needed fixing.  Part of that was due in part to a lack of quality feedback and my own undertaking to edit the book.

I learned from my mistakes though.

When I was at a book signing by Jim Butcher I learned he used beta readers while he was writing.  I thought about it and took the idea into consideration.  As I honed my writing more by writing fan fiction I occasionally asked a friend to be a beta reader to make sure the story was good, didn’t have any issues, and that the characters remained true to how they were portrayed.  As I neared the completion of my manuscript for THE DEMON HUNTER, I asked two friends if they would be beta readers.  I explained to them what I wanted, knowing full well they would provide me with the feedback that I wanted.  I made sure to give them a fair amount of time to read through the manuscript and comment/edit it.  What I got back has met and exceeded what I was expecting.   The feedback I received I have found to be quite insightful.  I noticed a few discrepancies with continuity that I hadn’t even been aware of until I started editing, as well as areas where I can improve and what some of my bad habits are.

Based on the feedback I received I know that my editing, while it will be exhaustive and slow, it will also result in an improvement of the story.  I know not everyone uses beta readers, but for me I find that they are quite useful.  It gives me initial feedback that I can use to polish up my stories and prepare them for the next step in trying to get them published.  Also, I’ve got different beta readers for different stories.  I’ve got a select few for my manuscripts as well as a select group for my short stories.  The difference in feedback is nice and I can take the highlights as to what I’m doing wrong and look for them in all of the stories I write when I go back over them.

The most important thing I’ve really learned though, is that editing is not an easy task, but it is certainly worth the effort and quality feedback makes a difference in doing a quality editing/revision job.  I know I couldn’t do it without my beta readers, and I’m thankful for all of their hard work in providing me with the information I need.

Back to editing I go….