Editing

I've begun editing my WriDay beast. Printing alone took about 45 minutes - unfortunately, you can't print ~150 pages in a single go when you're using a computer lab, so I had to chop it into 20-page chunks and print them in between other people's print jobs.

Then the editing started. Basically, I've split it in half between two 3-ring binders. I go through with a highlighter and a colored ballpoint, writing comments next to text and on the backs on pages, using the highlighter for sections that need major reworking. There's a lot of highlighter so far.

I'm about three-quarters of the way through. There are some significant chunks that need fixing, but the biggest problem tends to be the way that I skipped so quickly from event to event. Thus the book takes place over span of, at most, a week, when it should be at least two weeks long.

Whenever I get bored with editing (which is frequently), I focus on the publishing aspect. Using the terrific AgentQuery.com, which is in my opinion vastly superior to Writer's Market (and free!), I've been combing through YA agents - looking at bios and websites and sales lists. In the process, I found the agents who represent Neil Gaiman and Stephenie Meyer - not the same agent! - which was pretty cool.

I figure I'll be editing/rewriting until the end of school (mid-May). I'll let it sit for a month while I'm in Argentina, come back in July, and start polishing again. Then, around the beginning of school (late August/early September), maybe I'll be able to start the submission process. It'd be nice, anyhow. I doubt I'll get the preliminary rewrites done that fast - I detest rewriting scenes.

Especially since that jerk Lt. Oliver dragged me into writing a sequel about him.