My First Editing Journey

So I recently received two sets of edits for my upcoming short story, Call From The Grave. It's my first time ever working with a professional editor, and I definitely learned a lot from a little. I was privileged to work with Eden Royce, who has been very helpful and providing me with advice I wouldn't have considered.

I was grateful with my edits– there wasn't a lot that I needed to change. Most of it was rephrasing and deleting things that were unnecessary, as well as some clarifications. The only real challenge I faced was trying to figure out how to use Tracking with Microsoft Word, considering that I don't use Word at all.

I'm aware that I was lucky, and that no major portions of the story needed to be altered. Granted, the release date is still 12 days away (woo hoo!), and there could be other alterations that need to be made. Not that I will complain about it. I hear authors cursing the editing process all the time and I'm sure I'll join their voices sooner or later, but it's an important part of the writing process. I've never completed an edit via my own preference or another person's suggestion and found that it took away from the story. I also know that if that ever happens, I have the chance to say no. My story is mine, at the end of the day.

I'm still hopelessly green to the writing world, but I definitely took away from this experience and look forward to the next person who reads my story and offers me advice on how to change it. Mostly because it means someone professional and experienced has seen something in my work and wants to help me get it out there. At the end of the day, what more can I ask for?

Amy