It came up recently on a forum to which I contribute but was
part of the debate about sometimes being rejected coming as a relief; it stops
you making a fool of yourself. It was also connected with a discussion about
hybrid publishers. A big topic, and the rest of it is for another day.
I did remark that I'll often alter text as I go to read it
out. This is after it has been published or self-published i.e. after a
publisher has taken a risk with me or I have taken the risk myself, but both
scenarios include a thorough editing process. And it isn't only because you
need to the text to be a little different if it's to be read aloud. Most of the
time it's because I've noticed another way to improve my text.
I'm not the only one. Another creative writer / academic
friend of mine visited my university and read from her debut novel to some of
my students. She paused part of the way through the first page.
"Gosh," she said. "I've only just realised; I tell my student
never to do that." The book had been edited and published by a reputable
publisher.
Reading is no longer the same for me. Many of my students,
whether they study English literature or creative writing, find the same thing.
An inner voice constantly critiques the text. However, this constantly
analysing mind can offer one advantage; you can enjoy a text you wouldn't
normally enjoy because deconstructing it and establishing why it doesn't work
for you can be an enjoyable task and brings some education.
Eleven years of marking creative writing and twenty years of
critiquing it also add to this process, though I find it harder to do the same
to my own work unless I leave it alone for several months.
I actually keep a blog of recommended reads.
These are for texts that take me out of the editor's head. They are rare: I can
be totally absorbed in a story and no longer seeing the black marks on the
white paper and something will jolt me out of that dreamlike state; it may be
some odd formatting, a missing apostrophe or an awkward phrase.
Still, there is no need for despair. This constant editing
activity surely leads to better writing.
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