Author Field Notes: Copyediting
Three years and eleven months ago, I started writing a novel.
Well, I didn’t know I was writing a novel at the time. I thought it was a short story or maybe, a group of short stories. The truth is, I had no idea what I was doing but it felt good to create something, even if that something turned out to be nothing.
Now, almost four years later, I can say that Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance is definitely a something. I just finished the copyediting phase (aka. my last chance to change anything before the book is published), and I learned two valuable things about myself through this process: 1. My comma game could use some work, and 2. Even though I know the word gray is spelled with an a, I somehow managed to spell it with an e every time it shows up in the manuscript. To be fair, I was born in Britain, but still…
Other than spelling a word incorrectly that most six year-olds know to spell, the process was pretty enjoyable. It had been months since I read the whole book cover to cover, and I was afraid I’d come away from it with the feeling of impending doom that many writers experience after finishing a book. Thankfully, I felt pretty good about it, good enough that, after I emailed the edited manuscript to my publisher, I baked a tray of brownies and ate one while watching It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia with my fiancé.
Okay, two, but I think I earned them.
So, Beasts is officially out of my hands now. Overall, my first experience writing and publishing a book was a fun one, and hopefully, I’ll get the chance to do it again. I promise to brush up on the color wheel before I write the next one, though!
