As I posted last week, my book Shear Madness was released. Yes, great news, but now for the not so great.
When I was reading my Kindle version after it went live, I learned an extremely important lesson: ALWAYS read the manuscript, after the editor is done, and not just the parts that were edited, but the entire thing. Very carefully. After all of my read-throughs, other people that have read it, and the editor, there were still errors I found after taking a month away from the manuscript and reading with fresh eyes. Unfortunately after it went live. An editor cannot be expected to catch every error. That responsibility falls on none other than the author. So sales were temporarily suspended until said errors were corrected and now it’s back in the world of readers again.
I say this so other beginning authors can learn from my mistake, and to say that as disappointing as it was, at least I learned the lesson, so it wasn’t for naught. 🙂 I’ve noticed mistakes in the books of authors such as James Patterson and Patricia Cornwell, but the difference is, when you’re that famous you can afford to make those mistakes. For someone just breaking into the field, mistakes can be fatal to one’s writing career.
That being said, I have a new deep respect for the editing process and am convinced my next book will be all the better for it.
Amen! 🙂
“Well, we all make mistakes, dear, so just put it behind you. We should regret our mistakes and learn from them, but never carry them forward into the future with us.” –L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Avonlea
“Isn’t it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?” –L.M. Montgomery
At least you could correct them which is a good thing.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Indeed! 🙂
LikeLike
Both of mine released with errors in it and this was with 3 rounds of edits. Ugh. It happens. I think readers are a little more forgiving about it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Angela. I didn’t have these issues with my first book. It’s kind of like having kids–my first one was so easy and then came the second. LOL!
LikeLiked by 1 person
LOL. I’ve said a few times, if we would have had our second daughter first, there wouldn’t be a second. LOL. She’s the light of our lives, but oh my goodness, she is work. Of course, that’s just who she is and the world would be less bright without her. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s definitely frustrating how, after you’ve corrected all the major things in your manuscript, the little things pop out, especially when you’re reading with fresh eyes. That’s the great thing about e-readers, though, right? You don’t have a warehouse full of your mistake 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
So true! Thank you Kelly. 🙂
LikeLike
I couldn’t have said it better about my own kiddos Angela! Beautifully stated. 🙂
LikeLike
So beautiful! I love the cheery disposition and insight evoked in your blog. We can all relate to those moments! Well done girl. Ah-mazing 😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you so much for your kind words. There’s so much to be grateful for rather than wasting time being negative. 🙂
LikeLike
Of course. What a beautiful attitude 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lately, I’ve been rereading some of my old work and noticing things I never caught before, too… I think the time away adds new insight. That said, would you like to be one of the guest posters over at my blog where I’m featuring the editing process on Tuesdays? I’d love to host you there. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
You bet! Do you want me to just email you something or do you have specific guidelines you could email me? 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Awesome! Yes, can you please send me your email address? novelistrachel @ aol.com (without the spaces between) It’s just 5 short questions, or you can write something yourself and not use the question/answer format. And be sure to send me photos of your books and links where we can buy them so I can feature those. 😀 Thank you so much! ❤
LikeLike
Great reminder Rhonda and everyone is guilty of making mistakes in the beginning and yes we should be learning from them. Kath.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Kath. It’s all about making the mistake worth it by learning, right? 🙂
LikeLike