May has been filled with so many new beginnings for me and my husband. From getting a new car for me (and yes, it’s blue!) to house hunting at the end of this month (which is why this blog post was done at the last second).
But general new life beginnings aren’t the only thing that’s new in my life! Changes in the way I view my writing style have made a drastic change and, dare I say, improvement. I know I’ve spoken about my editing process in the past, probably when I first started this blog, but I’ve never really said anything in great detail. I mainly complained about how difficult the process is, which, to this day, still remains true.
Over the last few weeks, I’ve decided to take a different approach with my editing. Before I’d read my manuscript on my laptop several times and call it good. It’d go off to beta readers and then to my editor. But I finally took advice from my first beta reader (a.k.a my dad) and decided to print out my manuscript and read through it. At first, I honestly humored him. I didn’t understand what he saw when reading my book, but the second I started reading it, I saw what he meant.
Looking at my book from a different perspective gave me an entirely new outlook on the editing process. I read it from a reader’s point of view and I caught so many plot holes and grammatical errors. Had I continued my old way of editing and just read it on a screen, I can guarantee I wouldn’t have seen those errors as some were very small.
So, this month has seriously encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone even more, try new things, whether it be a new car, a new house, or something as simple as a new way of writing. And if I can encourage any new writers out there, I’d say, don’t be afraid to take chances!