When I was writing theatre, my mantra was “A play is never written. It’s only rewritten.” And this is true. A play can be performed over and over, published and republished. The written theatrical word is like a map for those who want to take the journey. It is never the definitive word. HOWEVER…
This is not the
case for books. We write a book and, as our editors drag it from our bleeding
fingers, it goes out into the world. It goes out there as we run after it with
additions and changes and edits and new thoughts that come moments before the
release date or (even worse) after the book is out.
Now is the time for
the deep breath. Now is the time for the zen ‘ommm’ and the calming of the
editing instinct. Let it go, says the
sane voice within. But I wanted to add the one scene with the…Let it go, says the voice again. But
there was a typo on page 315 and now I’ll have to apologize at signings…Let it go, groans the voice coming out
of my mouth. I can let it go, I tell
myself. But you know? I don’t believe me.
When I walk out of
the house in the morning, I really hope my husband or one of the kids will tell
me if I am wearing two different coloured shoes, or have my shirt on backwards,
or still have a coffee moustache. Doesn’t a book deserve the same care? Admittedly,
I did beg and fix a typo when the paperback came out. I can be thankful for
that. And I have learned that time away from the manuscript is helpful so you
return with clearer vision. I’ve learned to pass it along when I find myself
‘lateral editing’ as my editor calls it. I can stop. It’s just that when I read
to a classroom full of kids or someone reads aloud to me…I get that horrible
lump in my throat. Why did I say that? It would have been so much better to say…Let it go.
The truth is (and I
am breathing deeply as I write this) most of those typos, most of those
wish-I-said-it-this-way-instead moments, rarely even register with readers.
When the ARC of The Atomic Weight of Secrets went out to readers, everyone sent
back a list of typos. NOT ONE LIST WAS THE SAME! So we got all those…but you
know there are more, right? There is one (that one I managed to fix for the
paperback) that literally made me gag every time that page was flipped open. I
could not read it aloud or go anywhere near it in public. NOT ONE PERSON
NOTICED THAT ONE! Amazing, huh?
I guess, bottom
line, is believe yourself when the book is done. There will be magical moments
when you say ‘wow, did I say that?’ and that’s a pleasure. There will always be
something we might have said differently, sometimes better. And, yes, there
will sometimes be the shoe that doesn’t match the one on our other foot. But at
some point, we have to close the book on that page. Like children who must go
out into the world and face the joys and sorrows for themselves, our writing
must be let free. We have to love it and own it, but we do, we must, we will…let
it go.
-Eden
I love this, Eden! Especially the part where everyone found different typos! Rest assured typos never ruin a book for me. Even copyeditors are human.
ReplyDeleteNeil Gaiman says something very similar to what you've said here in his 8 Rules of Writing. #6 says in part: "You will have to let it go and move on and start to write the next thing. Perfection is like chasing the horizon. Keep moving." So even Neil himself admits it's impossible to reach perfection.
The fact that not one list of typos was the same made me chuckle!
ReplyDelete"But there was a typo on page 315 and now I’ll have to apologize at signings."
ReplyDeleteThat made me laugh out loud. You have no idea how much I want to apologize to readers about a sentence that was accidentally printed twice on page 38!
Your advice is sound. And I love the Neil Gaiman quote that Joanne mentions. So true.
Thanks, guys! That is a great quote, Joanne. It join the 'lateral editing' warning list. Mike's elusive typo comment shows that perfection is not in the cards. And the fact that Dianne still remembers on what page appears a mistake is proof of the closet editor in all of us!I have to admit that I pencil in edits when I read typos in books I own, though sometimes it takes a couple readings before my eye discovers them!!
ReplyDelete