Polishing/tightening with copyediting

Today, I thought I'd go into specifics about the changes/edits/corrections we're making in the copyediting phase for The Trouble with Demons, and how what I'm finding in my manuscript could possibly help you tighten your own work when an agent or editor asks you for a partial. When you send something out, you want it to be as clean and crisp as you can make it.

These are pretty basic fixes, but when you need to put your best work in front of an agent or editor (or in my case putting my best work on the bookshelves), it's important to get the basics right.

1. Think tight. Be aware of repeating yourself. If one sentence gets your point across, don't use two. Say what you mean the first time. The same applies to complete paragraphs. As writers, sometimes we tend to get a bit wordy. If you've already said something, repeating it using different words isn't going to get your point across any better; it'll just slow down your story, and you do not want that.

2. Strong words. Be sure to use the word that best conveys what you're trying to say. If it takes some sitting and pondering, or reaching for your thesaurus, then do it. I've found myself using several words when one stronger word would do a better job. (Great catch, Anne!)

3. Missing or extra words. Be aware of missing or extra words. It's usually the little guys (like "a", "and", "the" or "an") that get left out. When you've lived with a work long enough, you know what it's supposed to say, and after you've read it ten gazillion times, your eyes tend to skip over things. The same goes for extra words. When I revise a sentence, sometimes a word that should have been deleted with the rest of the discarded copy gets left behind, leaving me with one heck of a funky-sounding sentence.

4. Be clear. As writers, we assume a lot. When we get involved with our characters and stories, we can fall into the trap of assuming that we've already explained something. But in reality, that explanation is only in our head -- it never made it onto the screen. When you're reading your work for the last time before sending it out, either read it out loud, read each word, or better still, have someone with sharp eyes go over it for you. Something that may have made perfect sense to you, may actually need some clarification.

5. Spelling and punctuation. I know this is obvious, but it is so important in making a good first impression (and possibly an only impression) on an agent or editor. Spelling and punctuation -- get it right. If you're not sure, look it up. A typo or two can be overlooked; any more than that just looks sloppy. And better still is if you know a grammar geek or an English teacher who's willing to help you out.

Hope this helps! And I hope I didn't make any mistakes in this post. ; )
Lisa