I'm startlingly critical of other writers who let little typos and such slip by them, but I'm just as guilty (if not more so) than them. I'm at the beginning of revising my newest book, which is the sequel to the one I finished last year. To give myself a good foundation for revisions, I decided to reread the first one--and I was appalled.
Spellchecker stopped working for my first novel once the document reached a certain length, so all those annoying red and blue lines disappeared. That was a bad thing because my prose was peppered with transposed letters, extra letters, and other embarrassing literary foibles. I hang my head in shame. But I suppose that is what I get for trying to be my own editor.
My goal for my new book...publish it with few or no grammar, syntax, or spelling errors. It will take patience I don't have, but I want to be proud of my work, not ashamed that I didn't bother to give it a once over before thrusting it out in the world.
Alas, first things first. First I have to muddle through the story and mold it into something that flows well with the first one and that I find satisfying. It has a long way to go. I have to add scenes and chapters, rethink character reactions, and insert plot points that I can use when I write the third book. The prospect makes me shudder.
My goal is to get the book done by the end of the year, although my amazing talent for procrastination may have something to say about that. We'll see how it goes!
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