Self published authors, do you self edit?

[TGS]

Originally Posted by Moejoe

Plus, everyone I've ever met was an absolute cock.

ED: is that "everyone" or "every one"?

[Moejoe]

Originally Posted by TGS

ED: is that "everyone" or "every one"?

Curse you mistake!! Curse you to hell and back!!! This will haunt me, I just know it!!! (Now where's the shaking fist icon gone to?)

[jaxx6166]

Originally Posted by Lemurion

I can't speak for an academic scholar, but I can speak as a working editor of fiction, and I would have probably left the first passage alone.
...
I try to help improve a story, not take off points for grammar.

Hah! Thanks Lemurion. I was mostly making light of grammatical correctness, but hell. You could be my editor any day :P

[NickSpalding]

Originally Posted by Lemurion

I also check for POV and tense issues - as well as active and passive voice - direct and indirect discourse - grounding details and a host of other things; and that's not even touching the structural level.

You know what, it amazes me how many people don't seem to do basic things like this in their writing.

I've read so much stuff from indie authors written in the passive voice, riddled with unneccesary adverbs and poor grammar that I want to tear my hair out.

There's some great ideas and stories floating about out there, but they're being badly, terribly and annoyingly ruined because writer's don't want to do the grunt work.

I know people like to ignore the grammar Nazis, but that type of thing really, truly and depressingly puts me off reading someone's work.

[jaxx6166]

Originally Posted by NickSpalding

You know what, it amazes me how many people don't seem to do basic things like this in their writing.

I've read so much stuff from indie authors written in the passive voice, riddled with unneccesary adverbs and poor grammar that I want to tear my hair out.

And then they get offended when you don't want to pay $7.99 for the book that Aunt Mildred simply adored.

There's a lot of crap out there. And that gets me down. Quality suffers when people don't do the absolute minimum. It's not that hard...well, it is.

I hate doing the grunt work and do everything I can to put it off. Actually, I was just watching the Simpsons a short time ago. It was the "Equalia" episode when Lisa befriends the English girl. Her new friend's father has a doctorate in John Grisham literary studies. Lisa and her friend create a fantasy world full of enough cliches and genre tropes to make even the angriest nerd happy.

But, the best part is probably the last line in the episode:

Homer: Lisa you've inspired me to create my own fantasy novel. (Beat) Chapter One..... (annoyed grunt) writing's hard work!!!

Unfortunately, I think grammar as we know it may be going to way of the dinosaur. I mean, we're getting older. Kids that grew up with teh interwebs are starting to think that that type of stuff is okay.

I mene srsly wen ppl start 2 tlk lik dis n think iz ok...well, I think that may be a sign of the apocalypse.

We actually had a spammer or two around here not long ago whose advertisements for their book were filled with interwebs speak.

It goes back to one of my rules for writing: Be professional.

If you don't care enough about your work to spend some the time checking these things - well, then I don't care enough to read or buy your work. Bottom line.

I also think that every author should have their own seventh grade English composition/grammar book. Oh, and Elements of Style, which I'm pretty sure is required reading for anyone who wants to write. =)

[Lemurion]

Originally Posted by NickSpalding

You know what, it amazes me how many people don't seem to do basic things like this in their writing.

I've read so much stuff from indie authors written in the passive voice, riddled with unneccesary adverbs and poor grammar that I want to tear my hair out.

There's some great ideas and stories floating about out there, but they're being badly, terribly and annoyingly ruined because writer's don't want to do the grunt work.

I know people like to ignore the grammar Nazis, but that type of thing really, truly and depressingly puts me off reading someone's work.

Thanks Nick - I know it gives me a screaming headache when I go through a story and everything's in passive voice and the author's weighed everything down with so many adverbs that the verbs are lost in the verbiage.

Sadly, I see all too many stories like that.

Not wanting to let someone else touch your work is one thing - but I really wish some of those writers who want to do everything themselves would actually sit down and do it.

I'm not going to take any novel or writer seriously unless it's been edited to professional standards. That doesn't mean it needs to be published through a commercial house; nor does it mean the author needed to employ, bribe or cajole someone to edit it; it does mean that someone (either the author or someone else) had to do the grunt work of editing the manuscript.

I don't care who does it, but someone has to.

[jaxx6166]

What's a verb?

[Lemurion]

Originally Posted by jaxx6166

I also think that every author should have their own seventh grade English composition/grammar book. Oh, and Elements of Style, which I'm pretty sure is required reading for anyone who wants to write. =)

I have a stack of vital reference books on the right-hand corner of my desk: Two dictionaries, a thesaurus, Chicago Manual of Style, a couple of other books - and Elements of Style sitting right on top of the heap.

[nomesque]

I self-edit, largely. Any short works are all me.

That said, I've been working in the technical writing field around 10 years, now. The last 6.5 years, that's been my whole job. I have to self-edit a lot, as tech writing is still rather under-appreciated in IT But I spent the first couple of years having people tell me that various mistakes had caused major stuff-ups here and there... so I learnt a lot about carefulness

For my longer works, I self-edit, then I get beta-readers to help out. Maisy May is my only experience with this so far - 10 people with various specialities, and boy did they help! Mostly just little things - like "Maisy sends a text message in Chapter 3, and in Chapter 10 her mum gives her her first phone..." or punctuation/typography issues.

[jaxx6166]

Originally Posted by Lemurion

I have a stack of vital reference books on the right-hand corner of my desk: Two dictionaries, a thesaurus, Chicago Manual of Style, a couple of other books - and Elements of Style sitting right on top of the heap.

Chicago Manual of Style? I lived on the AP style book.

I still need to pick up a revised copy of Chicago...mine's like ten years old. Blech.

[nomesque]

PS. I hate 'Manual of Style' books.

[jaxx6166]

I actually considered taking a technical editing certificate course....Chicago was a pre-req.

Haven't taken it yet. Maybe it's the 5K for the certificate, or maybe its the 60+ for each book..

I blame university for my hatred of just about every style book guide or anything of the sort. APA is the devil.

But, Chicago/AP is probably the closest thing I can get to an editor on retainer.

[DaringNovelist]

Originally Posted by jaxx6166

Chicago Manual of Style? I lived on the AP style book.
I still need to pick up a revised copy of Chicago...mine's like ten years old. Blech.

Mine's thirty years old.

I like being a curmudgeon who can hit students over the head with it and say "In my day we put an apostrophe after the S in a plural possessive and we LIKED it that way! No sissy extra S for us! Nossir."

Camille

[nomesque]

Originally Posted by jaxx6166

I actually considered taking a technical editing certificate course....Chicago was a pre-req.

Haven't taken it yet. Maybe it's the 5K for the certificate, or maybe its the 60+ for each book..

OUCH!

I just dropped into the field because I can write and speak bilingually - geek and normal-folks

[nomesque]

Originally Posted by DaringNovelist

Mine's thirty years old.

I like being a curmudgeon who can hit students over the head with it and say "In my day we put an apostrophe after the S in a plural possessive and we LIKED it that way! No sissy extra S for us! Nossir."