Now the real work begins - fine tuning it until it's ready for submission.
I already completed global edits, reading through it three times to check for plot flow and storyline detail consistency. That leaves proofreadung and final editorial additions/subtractions/changes.
For me, the best way for me to ensure that I catch every error is to read it out loud. If I stumble over my words as I read aloud, then there's something wrong that I need to fix. Generally it's a typo or missing comma, but I sometimes also catch repeated words that need variation in the text or fixing voice to make each character sound distinct from all the others. It's meticulous and time consuming. I have a week and a half before the conference. Good thing I have taught writing and been a tech writer and proofreader in my past. I have the experience to do that sort of work quickly.
I know that any publisher will want to have their own editor go through it if they plan to accept my book, and if I decide to self publish instead, I'll hire someone to do that for me. Even award winners need an editor. But my whole life has been preparing me for this, and though I know some people groan at editing work, I really actually enjoy the process. To me, that's what makes the difference between a good story and one that knocks your socks off. I've seen typos in famous people's books, and those errors really stand out to me. I don't want that to happen to people reading my book. I don't want any errors to distract the readers and pull them out of the story.
Wish me luck!
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