Thoughts on Proofreading and Editing

The Demon Bride proof copies came back to me a few days ago. They have been thoroughly scoured :)

The Demon Bride: author's / editor's proof copies

Nothing vital has changed, but there were a number of missing words, typos, some interesting points made on things that were possibly unclear, etc - the usual.

I'm glad to say we are now near the end. The errors have been fixed and there are just two things that have flagged up that I'm not sure about in terms of grammar, etc. I'm looking into them...

Editing is a funny and fluid thing. You will come across those that staunchly believe some things should be one way or another, but language is not set in stone. Yes, there are rules, but a lot of those rules can be bent. For example, there are instances where I choose not to use a question mark if the question being asked is rhetorical, or if the person who is thinking / saying it is doing so in a manner that means I don't want a rising inflection at the end of the sentence (I'm thinking instances of sarcasm / dry humour). Technically, this can be seen as "wrong", but really, it just feels more wrong to me to have a question mark that ruins the way a sentence sounds ... and also if the question is asked without the intent of getting an answer. It's the way we think and speak - it's so varied and different across different people (and characters), and that's what makes language so beautiful and exciting.

I do know that some editors accept the "no question marks on rhetorical questions" angle. And others that will die before doing that, lol.

Some editors insist on having a comma before every "and", and some will hate commas littering most sentences (hate it with a very palpable venom), and strive to get rid of almost every comma they can find.

For me, it simply needs to read properly on the page when you think the words aloud, or if you speak them aloud. Punctuation is there to help you express the truth behind your words. It should make reading easy and pleasurable. In this instance, I hope I've succeeded. It's impossible to have everyone like the way one book is written, after all, some people can't stand first person point of view, and others find multiple points of view awkward and clunky (my husband is one of those people, lol). My philosophy is that if you write in a way that is true to the characters and the story, it will also ring true to your readers - not all readers, but then, no one sees eye to eye with everyone in real life either.

Anyway, I always go off on a tangent when talking about editing, and lord knows why, because I hate editing! (Really, I do!)

eBook release day: 31st August - just over a week to go! To be honest, The Demon Bride may be out 24 hours early just in case there are any problems with uploading ;) You will be the first to know as soon as it's online. xxx