Thursday, May 3, 2012

Recipe for Successful Line Edits

1. An editor who's smarter than you (Maggie is wicked smaht and insightful; together we're conspiring to make me look like less of an idiot).

2. A cooperative, sleepy baby who'll take naps so you can work.
Okay, so I'm not exactly working.

3. A sense of humor. My all-time favorite line edit concerns whether a character would be eating Pop-Tarts vs Toaster Strudels. (It's an issue of icing.) We've both done research and a winner will be crowned any day now.*

And in this corner...
4. The desire to tweak. Just call me Tweaker Sarah**! I love tweaking lines to get just the right phrase, mood, and style. Line edits give me the opportunity to do this to my heart's content.

Watch out for the Dough Boy. He'll cut ya.
I know you are dying to find out whether we went with Pop-Tarts or Toaster Strudels. You'll just have to buy, steal or borrow BRUISED next Spring.
*Unsurprisingly, Maggie was correct.
**Now I sound like a meth head

6 comments:

  1. Ok, now when I read your book I'll be searching for the Pop Tarts or Toaster Streudels!

    Your little guy is such a sweetie

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  2. I'm so glad I was there for the thick of the Pop Tart vs. Toaster Strudel debate. One day, historians will ask for my first-person account!

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  3. Thanks for your insights into the line edits stage. I just sent my first round of revisions back to Maggie yesterday, so I'll be anxiously awaiting this next stage.

    You have my deepest respect for handling all of this with a newborn! I remember those years of juggling writing with babies quite well.

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  4. I've got the munchies. Adorable pic of you and E. Is Bruised preorderable yet?

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