Another edit completed

Yes, I’ve just completed another edit. Just three more to go. This time it was the “Kill Off Your Darlings” edit.  I only found one, actually. It was one rather melodramatic sentence at the end of a chapter. It wasn’t needed.  The chapter had its own internal drama. Least said by the author the more the reader can decide for themselves. This is especially important in books written for young adults.  

However, I found a slight lack of logic in one of the very early chapters. Renate was supposed to be leaving Nuremberg in time to arrive at Stuttgart by two. That’s why she had got up so early. She’d thought she would be going straight after breakfast. I’ve had to make it clear that her mother was dithering with her packing and delaying their departure. She wasn’t, of course.  She was delaying telling Renate that they were Jewish.

I also found several examples of my favourite typos – “form” instead of “from”. The read out loud edit is yet to come and that actually usually deals with this sort of problem. Not all of the instances, though – which is why copy editors and proof readers really earn their keep and why self-publishers should use them.