Self-Publishing Diary: The Developmental Edit and 3 Things I Need to Work On

In the first self-publishing post, I talked about completing my manuscript and getting the editor’s evaluation back. After being told that I had a solid piece of work on my hands, I decided to move forward with the next step in the self-publishing process: the developmental edit.

This edit will give me a “big picture look” at my manuscript and help me identify the areas that need improvement.

I’d always known I wanted to write a book. Plus, I want my book to be the best book it can be; the crème de la crème of chick lit and women’s fiction. It was only natural to pounce towards a more aggressive round of editing. The main concern from my editor was pushing the plot forward and not getting lost in peripheral elements along the way.

Self-Publishing & the Developmental Edit: What I Need to Work On

Plot Pacing

My book is written in first-person. At times, my main character gets so chatty that it veers the plot wildly off course. For example, if she was trying to get to New York City from Toronto, she would’ve made pitstops in Buffalo, Philadelphia, and New Jersey along the way. (That doesn’t actually happen.) There’s no need for all that unnecessary travel. My work is cut out for me trimming down her internal banter. She is a Gemini after all.

Showing vs. Telling

I know this is a major thing in writing. What author doesn’t? However, sometimes when you’re caught up in the story and hitting your daily word count, it can be difficult to remember to show instead of tell the reader what’s going on. It’s so much easier to just tell someone something. But I’m not one to take the easy way out. Here’s an example:

Telling: She was excited.
Showing: She felt as bubbly as an effervescent flute of extra-dry champagne.

Info Dumping

In my head, I have back stories, current stories, and future stories for each character. Sometimes, with so much information in my brain, I forget that the reader doesn’t need all three at the same time. For example, in The Manhattan Mishap, one of the characters is dating a total scoundrel. When I introduced that point, I went on a rambling rampage talking about how they met, what he did, what he was caught doing, what he lied about… it was overwhelming and totally irrelevant to the plot at that point.

Once I get the feedback from my editor—in about three weeks—I’ll have to go through and make the edits. I know it’s going to be a lot of work but as Britney said, you better work bitch. (Not that I want a Maserati or Bugatti, but I’ll take the hot body.)

Next up: selecting the book size, page colour, and cover finish. Eek!

—ᴍᴍᴍ