2800 words today so far. Last night I had the best of plans to write, but I started working with a new developer who needed some help, and that took up the rest of my night.
My day started early with a 6AM podcast with The Alliance of Independent Authors. Then it was pretty packed.
Today, I wrote requirements for a new macro and my developer should have an estimate to me tonight or tomorrow. He can do most of it, and we’re having some discussions on the limitations.
Another developer is still working on the repeating word macro that I talked about last week. Should be any day now.
Basically, I’m almost done with the editing engine. In the next week or so, I will be standing up several components that will:
* catch repeated words within a certain radius (ie. Repeating the word “screamed” four times on one page)
* do some basic formatting and cleanup of the manuscript so I can important easily back into Scrivener and into Vellum for the first time, as well as my chapter scoring engine
* fix style issues such as numbers (when to use a numeral versus spelling it out, auto-adding commas to numbers higher than 999, and other little things like auto-populating every instance of my book titles with relevant links so I don’t have to build them every time, and so on).
* auto-insert comments whenever the system finds something that needs address (for example, if I want to give my future self some context on why I should change something, I can create a comment that tells me what I should consider).
This is in addition to what I already have, which is pretty substantial. The components I’m building right now could add anywhere from 10-20% additional accuracy to what I already have. I’ll know very soon.
Anyway, today was a heavy development day, but I still wrote 2800 words toward 250+ Writing Tips, Vol 2, and I’ve officially made it past the 50% mark. I’ve got around 20-25 chapters left to write. I can usually knock out a few chapters a day, so this will be my primary project until my editor returns my novel sometime around the end of the week. Then my attention will shift to that for a few days until I ship it off to my next editor. Then I’ll finish 250+ Writing Tips while waiting for it to return, then I’ll start Book 2 of the series, which I can hopefully make substantial progress on (if not finish) by the time my next (and final) law school class starts on March 22nd. I wrote Book 1 in 4 weeks so Book 2 hopefully take the same length, maybe less.
WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS, MICHAEL
Why am I spending so much time and money on this editing project? It’s not for the reasons you might think.
Sure, I can reduce the number of typos and grammatical errors in my manuscripts substantially.
But that’s not really the reason I’m building this editing engine. As I said before, my work is already quite clean to begin with before I send it to an editor.
The first reason I’m doing it is for consistency, to ensure the edits I make are the same from book to book.
The second reason I’m doing it because it helps me maintain mind control during the reading experience.
Fewer errors in the manuscript means that readers will enjoy it more. It also means they’ll keep reading, which means they’re more likely to finish my stories and become a fan. It’s not just about the typos. I’m also investing in strengthening the continuity of my stories so that readers don’t go “huh?” (More on this next week).
When readers don’t get distracted in your story, it means you can stay inside their heads. And the act of writing is about getting in people’s heads and controlling their thoughts. And when you can do that, you can tell the story that’s on your heart as well as influence readers (as far as nonfiction is concerned).
So this isn’t just about typos. It’s about more than that.
The next reason is increased efficiency. I took a manual process (self-editing) and provided step-by-step structure to it so that I can follow the same steps by clicking a few buttons, and get better results in less time.
The fourth reason is a reduction in editing costs over the long-term. Not so much in terms of what I pay an editor, but in terms of my time. By spending the RIGHT time editing the RIGHT things, and collaborating more closely with my editor, I will maximize my writing’s impact and influence while also spending less time editing. Because let’s face it, no one enjoys editing.
My mission is to entertain and educate the audiences that I serve. One of the ways I do that is to become a world-class content creator. A book that has almost no perceptible errors gives the author more room to exercise mind control. Another way I serve my mission is to become a technology-driven writer, with the goal of running a writing business that is so technology-driven that it seems to run itself. When I show you how this editing engine works, that’s exactly what it will look like—I literally click a button, and then it looks as if an invisible editor edited the work…
Anyway, I figured I would give y’all some more context and big picture of the “why” behind what I’m doing. It’s going to pay off in a pretty big way, and I plan to help many of you follow the same steps, should you dare to accept the challenges. It’s easier than you think.
Have a good night.
