My Least Favorite Part of the Writing Process...
...is reviewing galleys.
Galleys are cool at first glance, because it's the first time you get to see the book in its final layout. It actually looks like a real book, instead of something that's in 12 pt. double-spaced Courier New. (Self-published Lulu books presented in 12 pt. double-spaced Courier New are exempt from this comparison.)
When you go through the galleys, you get one last chance to find any errors. But that's really all you're looking for: errors. And not "Wow, does Chapter Sixteen ever suck!" errors, but tiny errors. If you send in a completely revised version of Chapter Sixteen at the galley stage, your publisher will beat the crap out of you with a chunk of frozen crap.
Now, if you find a really BIG mistake, like a loophole in your time-travel logic that means that your heroine is having enthusiastic carnal relations with her great-great-great-great grandfather, they'll probably let you fix it. But otherwise, the book in galleys form is pretty much the book in published form.
The final proofreading of my manuscript is my favorite part of the process. At that point, I'm a genius...nay, a super-genius! This book is AWESOME!!! Gooooooo Jeff! I'll be putting a down payment on that harem any minute now! Woo-hoo!!!
The thought process changes approximately 1.7 seconds after I click "Send." Then, every previously unseen flaw in the book bursts into my brain with a force that knocks me out of my chair and through the window in my office. I can't BELIEVE I sent the publisher that garbage. I am the epitome of lameness. I wait for the inevitable e-mail response that says "Dear Jeff: WTF?"
As time passes, my opinion of the book slips to somewhere in-between the two extremes.
I like it more and more throughout the editorial process. I enjoy that process quite a bit, even when the editor has to say things like "Hey, dumbass, you're using movie physics. Getting shot by a bullet doesn't throw somebody back against a wall. MythBusters proved it." (I did that twice in THE SINISTER MR. CORPSE.)
By the end, I'm likin' the book a lot.
Then the galleys arrive.
Now that I really can't change much, the book returns to the place where it was 1.7 seconds after I clicked "Send." I grit my teeth, take a deep breath, weep a little, and do my final typo search, thinking how sweeeeeeeet it was when I was working in Microsoft Word and could alter any little thing I wanted. If I wanted the main character to be named Ferdinand instead of Zorkon Prime III, I could just do a quick "replace." But in the galley stage, he must remain Zorkon Prime III.
Ouch.
In theory, the worst part would be months later when I actually read the published book. But I don't read the published book. Ever. I lovingly cradle it, maybe stroke the spine, but I never actually re-read any of it except perhaps to open the book, take a quick glimpse, shout "Oh dear God NO!" and slam it shut.
HEY, KIDS, IT'S READER PARTICIPATION TIME! If you're a writer, what's your favorite and least favorite part of the process? Post a comment and let me know. If you're not a writer, post a comment about cats. Because people like cats, and I want to increase my blog readership, and if it takes cat discussions to do it, that's fine with me!
Galleys are cool at first glance, because it's the first time you get to see the book in its final layout. It actually looks like a real book, instead of something that's in 12 pt. double-spaced Courier New. (Self-published Lulu books presented in 12 pt. double-spaced Courier New are exempt from this comparison.)
When you go through the galleys, you get one last chance to find any errors. But that's really all you're looking for: errors. And not "Wow, does Chapter Sixteen ever suck!" errors, but tiny errors. If you send in a completely revised version of Chapter Sixteen at the galley stage, your publisher will beat the crap out of you with a chunk of frozen crap.
Now, if you find a really BIG mistake, like a loophole in your time-travel logic that means that your heroine is having enthusiastic carnal relations with her great-great-great-great grandfather, they'll probably let you fix it. But otherwise, the book in galleys form is pretty much the book in published form.
The final proofreading of my manuscript is my favorite part of the process. At that point, I'm a genius...nay, a super-genius! This book is AWESOME!!! Gooooooo Jeff! I'll be putting a down payment on that harem any minute now! Woo-hoo!!!
The thought process changes approximately 1.7 seconds after I click "Send." Then, every previously unseen flaw in the book bursts into my brain with a force that knocks me out of my chair and through the window in my office. I can't BELIEVE I sent the publisher that garbage. I am the epitome of lameness. I wait for the inevitable e-mail response that says "Dear Jeff: WTF?"
As time passes, my opinion of the book slips to somewhere in-between the two extremes.
I like it more and more throughout the editorial process. I enjoy that process quite a bit, even when the editor has to say things like "Hey, dumbass, you're using movie physics. Getting shot by a bullet doesn't throw somebody back against a wall. MythBusters proved it." (I did that twice in THE SINISTER MR. CORPSE.)
By the end, I'm likin' the book a lot.
Then the galleys arrive.
Now that I really can't change much, the book returns to the place where it was 1.7 seconds after I clicked "Send." I grit my teeth, take a deep breath, weep a little, and do my final typo search, thinking how sweeeeeeeet it was when I was working in Microsoft Word and could alter any little thing I wanted. If I wanted the main character to be named Ferdinand instead of Zorkon Prime III, I could just do a quick "replace." But in the galley stage, he must remain Zorkon Prime III.
Ouch.
In theory, the worst part would be months later when I actually read the published book. But I don't read the published book. Ever. I lovingly cradle it, maybe stroke the spine, but I never actually re-read any of it except perhaps to open the book, take a quick glimpse, shout "Oh dear God NO!" and slam it shut.
HEY, KIDS, IT'S READER PARTICIPATION TIME! If you're a writer, what's your favorite and least favorite part of the process? Post a comment and let me know. If you're not a writer, post a comment about cats. Because people like cats, and I want to increase my blog readership, and if it takes cat discussions to do it, that's fine with me!
posted by Jeff Strand at 7:02 PM
1 Comments:
I haven't gotten to the "book published" stage yet, but I, too, ride the writing roller coaster with my work. One day it's "I'm so frickin' brilliant, they should pay me to do this." The next day, when I read what I wrote the day before, it's "Holy shit. I can't believe the Writing Gods allow me to use a laptop."
BTW, I just stumbled onto your blog. (I saw your name as a comment on Jenny Rappaort's blog). I'll be a frequent reader, so don't give it up! As a side note, remember that anthology you're editing ... the "Until Someone Loses an Eye" one? I submitted the story that was a satirical look at reality television, the one where contestants get killed when they're voted off? Just so you have a frame of reference.
Post a Comment
<< Home