Usually, the more one writes, the better one’s writing becomes. At least, one’s writing should improve.
In practice, if writers strive to hone and improve their vocabulary, grammar, and use of proper syntax, their prose becomes more refined. Reading books—a LOT of books—especially by great authors exposes writers to the necessary techniques to improve writing skills, too. Reading helps improve writing and broadens one’s vocabulary. One learns sentence structure, especially punctuation in dialogue. Study what you read as a writer. Take notes.
Authors develop their own sense of style over time. When I first began writing my first novel (technically my second), I read practically everything Dean R. Koontz had published at the time. I learned about pacing, suspense, and how to get readers to flip the pages. In a sense, I mimicked his style, as his books were the ones I consumed the most. Eventually, my style emerged.
I also read Writer’s Digest and The Writer magazine. I read these magazines’ back issues at the college library. Anything that would help improve my writing, I read it.
Some time back I published a blog, “Why the Rush to Publish?” Advice I’ve given for several years as an English professor is: “The best writing comes from RE-writing. Revision is KEY.” This means revising a draft one or two times isn’t publishable, unless you’re incredibly gifted. Believe me, I’ve reread and revised pages dozens of times and sometimes still find errors.
In truth, authors need editors. At the very least, they need skilled, passionate beta readers who have excellent English skills. Not your friends. Not family. Especially not your dear grandmother who dotes on you about how ‘wonderful’ your prose is. One thing I’ve learned. Family members will lie to you. They don’t want to hurt your feelings, so no matter how badly the writing is, you’re not going to get honest feedback from them. This reminds me of a woman years ago who kept telling everyone she was a ‘special’ singer and kept saying it until they asked her to sing. Oh, she was special all right, just not like she thought. Had she met Simon from American Idol, she’d have saved herself some embarrassment early on. But, you see, friends and family didn’t want to tell her the truth, so they didn’t. They lied to save themselves and her from awkward situations. Is that bad? Yes and no. No, because they wanted to spare her feelings. Yes, because they silently encouraged her to continue. But, this is a story for another day.
As an unspoken rule for myself, I reread most pages over a dozen times. Some pages as much as fifty to a hundred times. No lie. With my second novel, Beyond the Darkness, I read/revised the first chapter over a hundred times. Even after that many times, I still failed to catch a glaring error. I passed the manuscript to someone to read, and on the first page, she caught the error. Instead of ‘reclining’ chair, I wrote ‘recycling’ chair (which hopefully doesn’t exist and not sure why I wrote it this way or never caught it). I’ve no doubt I read the sentence well over 100 times. But here’s the thing. Since I had written it and knew what I’d meant, my brain autocorrected and moved past it without noticing over 100 times. This is why an author benefits from having an editor and/or a great beta reader. Extra eyes reading a manuscript are a lifesaver.
Eleven years have passed since Shawndirea (Aetheaon Chronicles: Book One) was released. To my surprise, Shawndirea placed in the TOP 100 Fantasy Bestsellers for ten weeks and peaked at #29. It sold well enough to qualify for my membership in SWFA, which was one accomplishment I hoped to achieve when I first began writing.
With Book 5 scheduled to launch this September, my PR has scheduled a Boxed Set (Aetheaon Chronicles: Books 1-3) to launch on June 18th. Because I wanted to have the best work out there, I decided last summer to revise/edit the first three books. Although the early books weren’t terrible, they definitely needed an overhaul. He suggested to have the cover typography match on the first four books so it’s more obvious this is a series, so I did that. Afterwards, I continued editing. The boxed set began with 450,450 words and ended with 417,000 words.
Twenty-six pages were cut from Shawndirea. Seventy-three pages were cut from Lady Squire, and thirty-one pages were cut from Frosthammer. These weren’t drastic cuts, but places where sentences could be rearranged or shortened to improve the prose and dialogue without losing the story. Lady Squire was also the longest book in the series and needed revised more than the other two. Although all three books had words cut, words and new scenes were also added. Added scenes came because of the fifth book and because I knew far more about its main character after writing his book than when he first appeared in earlier series books. These revisions mean the books are no longer the same as the original releases. They are better. Padding was removed.
A vast reason for the revisions was because I read these books with new eyes. Yes, my writing has improved since their publications, but the stories and characters were no longer fresh on my mind and I viewed them more objectively. I removed wordiness, which was far more than I expected, but the further into the series I read, the less errors I found.
One of the hardships of writing is being objective about one’s work. The first draft should be written from the heart. Don’t worry so much about the editing, and if you’re fortunate to hit one of those writing river flows, where the words and ideas pour out onto the pages, don’t dam the current by overly editing the work. Let the story and the characters lead the way. Then, after you’ve finished the manuscript, set it aside, for a month or more, and come back with fresh eyes. Now, you’re ready to read/revise with your brain and not the heart. Be objective. Perhaps ruthless, if necessary, and realize you’re working to make your book the best you can. What was written from the heart, while considered sacred to you, needs polished, edited, revised.
So what’s ahead? The Aetheaon Chronicles’ boxed set is scheduled for release on June 18th. Crukas (Aetheaon Chronicles: Book Five) in September. Book four in the Nocturnal Trinity Series is in November (fingers crossed), and a couple of Dee’s Mystery Solvers in December or January. Until then, many blessings to you!
NOTE: Shawndirea, Lady Squire, Frosthammer, and Shadowfae are in Kindle Unlimited. The boxed set will be released in Kindle Unlimited as well.