First Round of Editing DONE!

I’m sorry I’ve been missing the last two days. I dove head first into Mally the Maker on Friday and decided it was time to finish the first round of editing and I’m so happy to say it’s DONE!

Seriously I’ve been doing lots and lots of fist pumps since 3 pm today because that was a LONG process. I finished writing the first draft of the book back in March and Josh took a week to edit the text.

And then I’ve been stuck in it ever since. Yes, I do use the word stuck because it was like wading through the Swamp of No Fun.

I really love writing and towards the end of writing this book, I really felt myself speed up and get into a groove. Editing is much slower, very detailed, and I like to do it downstairs on my big computer screen which is on a regular desk so I can’t stand or walk and work on it.

Side note: I’ve build a makeshift standing treadmill desk upstairs which only supports a small laptop. I like working on it, but a bigger screen really makes a big difference. I was missing a lot of typos and duplicate words because my screen was so tiny. Yes, I can walk and write at the same time – very, very slowly!

So I’ve been in editing mode since March and I fixed a lot of mistakes. I added two new spaces to the map, sorted out a lot of inconsistencies, and strengthened a lot of spots that were a bit weak.

I did get stuck twice – both times because I re-wrote a significant section of the text that then spiraled into more changes further in the book. I sorted it out, dug myself out of the hole and swore to myself, Josh, and every scrap of fabric I have left in the house that I will not do that again!

So what is next for Mally the Maker? More editing!

Josh is already reading through the book a second time and making more corrections. I’ll add those in, then do two more rounds of editing by listening to the book while I quilt. That’s the way I read most fiction novels – as audiobooks – so that’s the best way for me to edit. I can keep my ears on the book and my eyes on my quilt and catch minor changes in word choice and things like that as I listen.

Now all this might sound like the book is terrible. I promise you this is just a polishing process. It’s the step of going from a drawn quilt pattern on paper to working out the math and size to be most efficient. This is the process of fixing typos, duplicate words, and all my misplaced commas and apostrophes that could potentially pull you out of the book.

The story itself is rock solid. I honestly think this is the second best thing I’ve ever made (James will always be the best).

Multiple parts make me cry every time I read them. Despite the fact that I plotted the book before starting, it twisted and turned in ways I didn’t expect. I heard on a recent writing podcast – No surprise for the writer, no surprise for the reader – and I absolutely agree.

This process has been surprising, fun, challenging, and amazing all rolled into one.

And it’s only just beginning! Josh has the galley now and is already reading through it. I’m still going to wake up an hour early every morning and begin working on the artwork, quilt patterns, and doll patterns for the characters in the book.

This has been the part I’ve been most looking forward to for months and I can’t wait to start making images, designs, and quilts to go along with the book. Yay! We’re one step closer to making Mally the Maker a reality!

Let’s go quilt,

Leah Day