Still revising

I am hoping to get this off my figurative desk by Monday; book is not cooperating.

I turned in the book at 148.5k words. This is too long. I had cut about 4k words before I submitted, but, well. At this point, I needed an extra pair of eyes.

My editor asked if I needed one particular section, and I considered it for a while. The answer was a reluctant no. I could cut those words, but would then have to shore up a second set of words, because both of the sections emphasize and structurally support a specific strand of the book. I didn't need both of them, but I did need to strengthen the one structural leg remaining.

Simple, right?

Except the section I cut has threads that continue forward throughout the book. They are small threads, but they also have to be excised or they will make zero sense, given they're referring to something that is no longer in the book.

This is how I process cuts. Once the book is finished, I try to look at the book structurally. When I need to cut, the question becomes: Will this book work without these words? Or: Can I make the book work as a book without these words? It's not that the words are bad; it's not that they added nothing. It's that the book, with revision, can stand without those words. With revision is the key two words in that sentence.

I am working at the store today, but for the third week in a row, have to run in early; we're still avoiding the subway, which makes transport more of a logistical difficulty. So I will post the next half of West chapter after I get these revisions done.

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This post is mirrored from https://michellewest.ca/

I find it hard to have a conversation on Patreon, and have created a WordPress Patreon only blog to make it easier for me to find new comments and respond to them, sometimes at length.

This post is https://michellewest.ca/2022/06/11/still-revising/; you should be able to hit Login with Patreon, and should be able to read posts there at the same levels you can read them here.

I'll answer comments here as well if this is your preferred format, but probably not as expansively (which might be a good thing!).