It's been a few weeks since I've written (as I promised, I won't flood your inbox!), and a lot has gone on. Not just with me, but the world around us. That being said, I've been thinking about something that happened to me in relation to an event that happened to a newscaster on TV recently.
I'll start with the lady on the news. I've been watching for years, so I know that she has MS (multiple sclerosis). She is doing well, but as is the case on TV, she wears dresses above her knees. One viewer took enough exception to actually send her a private Facebook message, complaining about her ugly knees, she's not a child so don't let them dress her, and other non-flattering tidbits that made her cry.
Instead of being nasty, though, she wrote back and asked if she could post it on her Facebook page. The person said yes, and the response was... as you might guess... phenomenal. She didn't have to respond except to say she was proud of her legs, and used it as a platform to promote MS. In case you don't know, at any given moment she could be in a wheelchair, due to the disease.
Now, here's something that happened to me. I finished writing the book, "Zombie Wild West: Death Walks In," a week before my birthday in September 2017. I got mostly money so I could have the book edited and have an advertising budget, amongst other things.
I immediately sought out an editor, and since I'd never used one, I searched around and found someone with great reviews, a great price and a great turn-around time. I wanted to publish the book on December 1st to be ready for Christmas.
I was promised a first draft in two weeks. Everything went fine until three weeks. I emailed. Then on the fourth week, I got a draft. It was a computer generated spell-check. Not an edit.
Now, you should know, there's different kinds of editing. I won't bore you with details, but I had specifically asked for content editing. Meaning, she would make sure I didn't misplace a character that was important, or that my chapters flowed properly, stuff like that. I didn't ask for a spellcheck. Since then, I haven't heard from her. Not an email, text, phone call, nada. Birthday money down the tubes, and I was seriously down in the dumps.
I ended up asking my wife and friends to help edit it, and I personally read over it about a dozen times. It was a week late, but everything went well and it was published. Yay!
So, what's the point? Just this: we all need a good editor. Our own conscience is our first editor. Should we say those mean things that pop in our head when that idio… I mean, that misguided person cuts us off on the road? Or what about when we mean well, like with the news lady? Because, you know, it was a private message, so that won’t hurt anybody, right? Wrong.
I’m just as guilty as anybody else, so yes, I’m writing to myself. Stuck in the house with the kids out of school, we could have been miserable. What did we do? Built a fire, sledded, had fun. I’m fortunate that my family enjoys being around each other. Hopefully, yours does, too. But I think we could all use a little editing, with our families and friends, co-workers and strangers.
Ok, so that’s it, just wanted to pass along some things I’ve been thinking about this week. And if you’re wondering, last I heard, the lady I hired to edit my book was still in the hospital, having gone in at Thanksgiving. That’s all I know, but I’m glad I didn’t have to ask forgiveness for a mean email or phone call. Gratefully, my internal editor kicked in just in time.
One last thing: have you left a review for my book on Amazon? I could sure use it!
Amazon: "Zombie Wild West: Death Walks In"
The more reviews, the more Amazon helps out independent authors like me. Please take a moment to leave an honest review. I won’t be mad if it’s not 5 star (disappointed, maybe… 😉). Thanks!
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