Novel Update - Copy Editing
Hello dear readers,
Thank you so much for sticking with me through my crunch period editing my novel. And, I see there are a lot of you who are new here, as well. To whom I say, WELCOME!
Typically, I write a Monday post that’s a round-up of links I’ve been reading, mostly tilted towards history, a Wednesday post that’s deep-diving into a book, and a Friday post that’s about culture. But I’ve taken the past three months to edit my novel manuscript.
What’s this novel, you ask? It’s basically a novelization of Savarkar’s time in London, and how it connects to Aurobindo Ghosh, Subramanya Bharati, and the movement for Pakistan.
Do read it here, here’s the table of contents:
The fiction part is paywalled, but with every chapter, I talk about the real events that I’m fictionalizing, often with sources, and that’s free to read.
I’ve been writing this for a WHILE now, through a pandemic, parenting, and other significant life changes, and you all have stuck with me the whole time, especially those of you who support me with a paid subscription.
The Feedback
In November, I went off to work on the next round of edits of my novel. This was basically a developmental edit. A few of you had some great feedback on the earlier draft of my novel. Some of those who read it had no feedback at all, because they were stuck in the middle chapters — and that was feedback too! It gave me direction on how to edit it all.
First off, at 210,000 words, the novel was simply too long. And the first 25,000 words were a lot of setup and weren’t exciting enough to read. I wanted to rivet the reader earlier on. And several parts in the middle were draggy. And, at several points, my main character was acting like an NPC (non-playing character) to whom things happen. And the brilliant move I’d decided was interspersing action scenes with more sober scenes was a definite non-starter because it broke people out of their immersion.
But there were also good things that were said. Everyone liked the concept. Everyone agreed they enjoyed the research. People enjoyed how freedom fighters were portrayed as human, but still amazing ones. One reader compared it to A Song of Ice and Fire with all its threads.
I had to use this feedback as a guide to edit this manuscript down into a more readable book.
The Edits
This was honestly the most fun draft to edit. You know all the writing advice you get, about starting in the middle of the action, and figuring out what your character’s favorite cocktail would be? Yeah, I got to use all of that advice finally.
A lot of what I did was adding internal monologue to my characters. Sure, they are throwing a bomb at a British magistrate and trying to dodge the police while transporting Browning pistols internationally, but how do they feel while doing it all? That’s important because that’s what the reader is interested in. We want to be like “That’s crazy, Mr. Aiyar, that you’re misleading the authorities with fake letters posted to your family, while actually making your way to a French enclave. Are you scared? Worried? What happens if you get busted?”
And I cut out a few inconsequential characters and gave their lines to other characters. My husband’s constantly complaining that there’s too many names in the book. I didn’t understand what this meant, and then I started reading the biography of the founder of Lego… and realized there can indeed be too many names, especially when you don’t know enough about the culture to grok them all.
I also cut out a lot of repetitive or sidetracking sequences. The problem with Randeep Hooda’s Savarkar movie was that it tried to contain EVERYTHING and the kitchen sink. It’s hard to bring out a clear narrative while doing that. I decided to prioritize the narrative (though it’s yet unclear how well I’ve done so).
The biggest thing, though, is tightened prose. I’ve essentially cut down about 35,000 words! That’s enough words to write a short novel! This has been HUGE.
It’s still a monstrosity at 175,000 words. But a more manageable one. And definitely seems a much more readable one.
What’s Next
I’m currently line-editing the manuscript. This is SO MUCH easier than developmental editing as I was doing earlier. I don’t need to think about sequences, except when it comes to continuity. I’m mostly focusing on words and sentences, and how it sounds.
Then there’s copyediting and proofreading, which are apparently mechanical processes.
Ideally, I should have this professionally done, but I’ve tried, and suffice to say, it’s not an option for now. I’m probably going to do it after the release when I’m much less stressed out.
These drafts should go by much quicker, hopefully. I’m thinking a solid couple of months focusing on this.
I’m probably going to bring back my Monday posts; I’m sure I can do that while editing. Maybe even a Friday post now and then. But deeper writing takes a lot of time and effort, and I’d rather use my rather limited writing time to edit.
There are still 20 chapters more of my novel to go on this Substack (reminder: I’m publishing my earlier draft chapter by chapter), so if you’re a paid subscriber, you’re getting what you paid for.
Once again, thanks a lot!
Thank you for enjoying my writing, for telling your friends, and for sticking with me. For every comment. Every word of feedback. Every share. Every like. Every sign of encouragement. Writing is such a lonely enterprise, and I’m glad I have you guys to share it with.