THE MEMORY THIEF Copy Edit

How to tell your book is getting close to publication: you’re going through the copy edit.

When most people think of editing, they’re usually confusing it with a copy edit: checking spelling, crossing your t’s, dotting your i’s. Up until now, all the edits have been big picture things, for the most part. Scenes that aren’t working. Characters that aren’t consistent. Once most of that is ironed out, it moves on to a new set of eyes.

But copy editors aren’t just spell checkers and grammar Nazis. They also go through the whole book to check for consistency. That’s how I discovered just barely that my main character’s twin went from having dark hair to blonde hair in the middle of the book, for example. (Whoops. Maybe she dyed it off screen?) It’s also how I discovered that there’s a proper way to spell that frozen slushy drink you get at convenience stores: ICEE. All caps.

So even if I think that’s a lame way to spell something, I’m kind of stuck with it.

In the end, a copy edit for me consists of lots of scrolling and studying to see if anything needs changing, or if I want to be stubborn about anything in particular. Nothing too exciting, but it’s a real mile marker that says this book is getting ready to finally hit book shelves.

In six months. 🙂

Anyway. That’s my Monday. Hope yours is going well!