R.J.'s Story: The Last Step, Copy Editing

Time and again, I've read that it is wise and recommended to have a professional editor review your manuscript before you submit it to an agent or publisher. And it's a must, if you self-publish your work. Since I had yet to determine my publishing strategy, I decided to take this one last step, and make sure the manuscript was tweaked to its best possible form.

I contacted a wonderful copy editor by the name of Linda Jay Geldens. I met her at a Bay Area self-publishing conference I had attended back when my husband, Mike, was just coming out of his illness. I kept her business card, knowing I would most likely make use of her services somewhere down the line. She was shocked that I remembered her, and glad to hear that my manuscript had finally reached this stage.

I sent it off to her and hoped for the best. Right away, she emailed me saying that, so far, she loved the story. I emailed her back, saying I hoped that feeling would continue. Not having worked with an editor before, I didn't know what kind of corrections or feedback to expect. My work had already been dissected so many times, yet I was ready to accept the fact that further criticism could do nothing but improve the end result.

What I didn't expect were the hundreds, maybe thousands, of red marks (suggestions) that accompanied the returned manuscript. I'm surprised my eyes didn't fall out of their sockets! Linda does admit to being an overly zealous editor. New punctuation marks, rearranged words and phrases, and a fair share of questions oozed from the pages. I had a good laugh, set the manuscript aside and waited until my brain was ready to accept a new round of "punishment." But as I eventually worked my way through the pages, I found that 99 percent of her marks made sense. By cutting and pasting, making subtle grammatical changes, and tweaking vocabulary, she made the pages flow like they never had before, without interfering in the least with the storyline. I was extremely pleased with her expertise and attention to detail.

What surprised me even more, however, was the fact that Linda absolutely adored the story, the characters, and the world of Heaven's Wait. "I'm hooked," she kept telling me. She felt especially connected to one of the younger characters, as well as to the unique animals who inhabit the land. Here was an objective reader with no previous knowledge of my creative journey, someone who has literally read thousands of writings, who was actually over-the-top about my crazy little world. What more can we ask than to touch someone's life in a meaningful way? Isn't that why we're all here?

Needless to say, I highly recommend professional editing. From what I've seen, it can do nothing but enhance a body of work, making it that much more meaningful to the end reader.

( Learn more about Linda at http://www.lindajaygeldens.com/ )