I'm Quitting Editing · 11:00pm Apr 26th, 2012
I don't have a lot of people I'm pre-reading for currently, even though i used to have a few, and whether or not this reason was the actual reason or if it was coincidence, it makes sense: I'm not very good at it.
Was that sentence up there even coherent? Oh God, I have no idea!
My editing skills are lacking, and on two separate projects I've pre-read for I have been upstaged by another pre-reader who notices major mistakes that I before couldn't. How could an author trust me to correct their things about their stories when afterwards major mistakes can still be seen by their readers? The answer is that they shouldn't. I like pre-reading and editing, but my skills aren't enough to make products worth editing for worth while.
What I'm going to do: Read some books, study some English, and brush up on some grammar. Just because I'm quitting for now doesn't mean I'm never going to come back when I feel my skills are better. Giving up is lame, but offering inadequate skills for people who trust you to give the best is even lamer; so I won't do either. I'll just take an extended 'break'.
Thank you all that gave me trusted me with their hard work, and while I know some of you were satisfied with my results, I don't think you realize the extents of what I SHOULD be.
Owwwww, I didn't think you'd take it so personally.
Look, you did a fine job as a pre-reader. You managed to catch most of the grammatical errors, making the whole story into something readable. While it wasn't perfect, at least it managed to pass the threshold from 'grammatical mess' to 'enjoyable story'.
The thing is, while the other guy did catch a few more minor, hardly noticeable grammatical errors, he also pointed me at the fact that I had a serious case of said bookism addiction, completely destroying the narrative flow. It's the kind of thing I should have noticed myself, but instead someone needed to point it out.
While I AM a little miffed that no one told me before, I consider it mostly my own personal failing. I'd say we should both take this as a learning experience instead. You still have the google doc for chapter 2 lying around? Why don't you compare that one to the current version, so you can see for yourself what kind of changes Letedwend suggested yourself.
I was actually kind of hoping you'd still help me out. Even if the end result isn't perfect, I need to get something readable to the subscribers before they all murder me. While Letedwend is a good editor, he is so thorough that he needs several days for a single chapter.
Pretty please?
Now I feel bad. If you're willing, Kayeka could probably still use your help for first pass editing, since, as mentioned, I'm pretty sluggishly thorough/thoroughly sluggish.
If you want to get better, I think doing some editing of some form or another is probably the best way of improving. I know this from personal experience: I'd probably be able to turn out a half-decent story if I practised more often. It probably can't hurt to do a bit of study on the side, though; I'm still trying to get a grasp on grammatical tenses and verb moods, myself (damn you, subjunctives!). Wikipedia's an adequate source, if the article you happen upon is at all readable, though there are probably more specialised websites that you might find more suitable. I find Wordnik, for instance, to be pretty great for the vocabulary side of things.
Best of luck in whatever you choose to do. I just wish I had some better advice to offer!
88376
I's not really PERSONAL, seeing as I'm not in the corner going "That damn Kayeka... thinking I can be replaced!
Party Hat
Party Hat
Party Hat
Party Hat"
(See this for the joke: http://fc09.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2012/064/5/4/party_hat_by_csimadmax-d4rtvrg.png )
I don't think the use of Said Bookism was that excessive, in my opinion, which is why I never said anything about it. I'll do some comparisons of the last draft and this new one.
I know that I'm decent, and I can bring things up to a readable standpoint, but everything you have is already just fine for a basic readibility. What you need is someone who can suggest things that will make the passage perfect, which I can't do. I can only offer small grammatical fixes here and there that no one would really notice anyways (And it seems rarely anyone has)
Besides, I have a pre-reading I need to do for someone else and I haven't even had the time to do that one. At the current time it would probably take me a week as well to get a pre-reading done, and it wouldn't be done as well as Letedwend's work.
88400
It's nothing to feel and about. The shortcommings are my own. Thnk you for the tips as well.
If that's the way it is, I won't push further. Thank you for all the work you've done up to now. Believe it or not, you've been a big help.
88570
You're welcome, and it's been a pleasure to work on it. I'll probably return though, but for all I know that may be during your 10th, 15th, 20th chapter, I don't know. All I know is that I need to brush up a lot more on my skills before I feel better about what I can actually provide before I come back. I'll still be reading DWP though, and giving my overall feedback; it's the least I can do for a story I like so much.
88575 Good to know. See you in the comments section!
Don't take it so hard. Everyone can make misstakes.