Blog Tour: Become by Jillian Watts (Guest Post)

Title: Become (Terrestrial Goddess #1)
Author: Jillian Watts
Pages: 250
Publisher: Split Tree Publishing
Release Date: October 15, 2013

Summary: (Goodreads) 

After a near-death experience, Abbie Thomas finds herself at the mercy of the olichon — a race of sword-toting energy shifters. Staggered by the news that she can never go home, Abbie is forced to renounce her humanity and take up the sword. Fighting to stay alive by mimicking those around her, Abbie’s mortality is tested yet again when she and two of her mentors are attacked by members of a cult devoted to a malicious goddess. Feelings between Abbie and one of her mentors become the catalyst that unravels a series of revelations about Abbie that neither she nor the olichon are ready to accept.

Link to Pre-Order a Signed Copy:  http://splittreepublishing.com/products-page/  (anyone who will be in Thunder Bay on Oct. 15^th and pre-orders will be invited to the launch party)

Website|Goodreads|Facebook|Twitter|Amazon| AmazonCA|

Guest Post: 

Going Through the Editing Process

First of all, a big thank you to Amanda for hosting me today. Cheers, lady!

And now on to the editing process. Where do I even begin? Let's see: up until March of this year, I had had no experience with a professional editor. "Editing" consisted solely of me, poring over several drafts of my novel before I would even consider letting another intelligent creature take a look at it. Rough drafts are never very pretty, and mine are no exception. My friends helped with an earlier draft, my husband helped with a later one, and between all of that I was able to polish the novel up to a dull sheen. Once I was sure that I'd done my very best, I sent out a query letter to a local publisher.

They loved it, which excited me to no end. The work on Become began in May and the comments from the editing team began to flow in through Google Drive. There were red marks all over the page. Yep. Not perfect. Even having done my very best, I had missed a few things. Then another editor started in, and mauve marks appeared beside the red. Oh boy.

My heart began to thump with anxiety, and I shut down a bit. But then I went back in and dealt with their questions about the olichon world, about titles and how they work, and about the general procedure of things. This was my world, after all; in order for them to edit with sincerity, they had to understand the darned thing. They taught me some things as well, and I continue to use their guidance to become a better writer.

I worked with my editors, trying as hard as I could not to thwart them in their attempt to beautify Become into something I couldn't even have imagined. Whenever I began to feel terrible about my writing ability, I had to remind myself that they couldn't pull something out of thin air, and that what Become turned into was the result of a team effort; technical and creative had come together to make a cohesive reading experience, and that's what all we need to remember at the end of the day.

Things I learned from having been professionally edited:

1) It's not personal. At all. The editor's job is to take what you have and make it the very best that it can be.

2) Never be afraid to learn something new. You can apply it to your future writing project and be that much better for your experience.

3) Whenever you're feeling low: remember that someone believed in your work so much that they agreed to take on your project.

4) If you're planning to publish a book: you need an editor. It doesn't matter how good you think your novel is, you're far too close to your own project to see the flaws. (There's been some debate about the necessity of an editor, but I feel that writers owe their (potential) readers a pleasant reading experience. I'm a reader too, and I prefer edited books.)

While being edited was certainly one of the most humbling experiences of my life, it has also been one of the most rewarding.

Giveaway! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway