Q: You’re a professional editor as well as the author of Blue Mountain Rose. Did you edit the book yourself?
A: I worked with my early drafts the way any writer does, revising scenes and text as my understanding of the characters and plot improved.
Some people might define what I was doing after the first draft as editing, but I would call it revising or rewriting. All writers do it, or should.
About a year into my process, I sent the book out to a professional copy editor. Merlina McGovern lived up to her sterling reputation. A copy editor examines text to find errors in meaning, consistency, grammar, and punctuation. Merlina’s comments were detailed, accurate, and precise; plus, she kindly told me she enjoyed reading the book, and that made me feel grand.
After the copy edit, I did another rewrite. Then I sent the book to a professional proofreader. That person’s job is to ferret out even the tiniest errors right before the book goes to layout. Milli Ondras was exact in her comments and generous in her praise. I appreciated both.
One thing I learned from working with these two pros is to never forget the artist’s ego. As an editor, I sometimes get into “fix it” mode, addressing technical issues as if the text was generated by AI. But writers are human. In Merlina and Milli, I found two wonderful advisors who left my book much better than they found it and gave me the emotional encouragement I didn’t know I needed. Their support helped me throughout the long process of making the text ready for graphic design.
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