Alright, readers, a quick one today to let you all know that I am still alive.

Actually, I’m very busy with writing chores at the moment, I am churning through the final edit of my latest manuscript before I submit the RD (rough draft) of “The Storyteller’s Heaven” to my editor.

It is a tedious process, but utterly necessary to deliver a serviceable product to my editor, who will proceed to bleed all over it.

This is the polish that you need in order to deliver a publication ready book. This pain, this endless dissection of the MS (manuscript). If you don’t do something like this, be prepared for a whole passel of justified one-star reviews on Amazon. A book is not a first-grade coloring project, and there are no substitutes for the most professional work that you can deliver.

It’s a form of respect for your readers. Deliver the best product that your ability and budget will allow, your people will see that you have put your best foot forward.

But that’s enough of that spiel.

In the screenshot above you can read the words “backwards edit.”

What does that mean.

My mentor gave me this technique, it is terrible in its soul-draining majesty. But darn does it work good!

Here’s what you do.

You start at the end of your book and read it paragraph per paragraph backwards, so that you do not get caught up in the flow of the story.

Trust me, you’ll spot a lot using this technique.

You’ll also get a migraine and a desire to do something, anything, else.

But it needs to be done. This is why I give myself hard deadlines, and I strive to stick to them. Onerous tasks are frequently the most necessary, and by close of business tomorrow I owe my editing team the RD MS of “Storyteller’s Heaven.”

In fact, I am playing hookey from just that as I type this brief message.

Soo…