So I just started working on editing grydscaen: retribution which in its first edition was released in 2010 as the first book published in the grydscaen series. Where reviewers said it was well written for a first time author and the story was intriguing, it had punctuation problems which one reviewer set “while well written, punctuation detracts from the prose…” At the time this was my first novel, my baby, the one book that I was going to write and be done with it. Well, that did not happen and the epic grydscaen series began. Nine books and many short stories later we are still going strong but still retribution was out there in its first version and I knew that I would have to come back to it.
Well now I am getting a second chance at retribution and we are just kicking off the editing process. The story is strong said the reviewers but the punctuation needed to be fixed and after publishing books for 8 years and 25 novels and novellas later well I have grown as a writer and now retribution needs a once over. We are proofreading, fixing punctuation and line editing. I am not tossing sections of the story I am refining and making it stronger.
Luckily I have this chance with a new publisher and can really make the first book shine. This is the germination of the grydscaen series and where it all began.
So right now I am only on page 16 in chapter 2 I think. I am doing a little bit at a time. I am getting a chance to redo the entire grydscaen series with new look and feel and new content that was not previously published. This second chance gives me the incentive to make the books shine and really polish them. Having written retribution in 2010 it has been a while since I have seen it or even read it so at times when I am proofreading I am coming at it with a new set of eyes almost as if I didn’t write the story. I find it intriguing that it took until 2010 when I had written short stories in the grydscaen world before but I could never retain the stamina to write a full novel until retribution. I can remember the day I went to a trusted friend and said I was writing a book and basically asked for permission to do so. For some reason that step was necessary. Once the book was written this person said it was more cathartic than any help they could have given me and I believe that to be so.
The characters in grydscaen have matured since retribution and I need to not write forward and give them things they grew into. The story still needs to be raw and the characters immature before they get the chance to grow. Like Blue who is on the cover, there are things he can’t do in retribution because he is only 16 and immature at that point in the story. He grows into his psychic powers and I can’t give them to him until he is ready. This limitation needs to remain so I need to keep the characters young and raw.
The edits I am doing are relatively for consistency, grammar, punctuation and continuity. The storyline is set and the backstory in grydscaen: beginnings which was written after retribution which is volume one leads the characters into the start of the series.
I have a voice now I didn’t really own in retribution because I was raw and new. This voice has been solidified with nine books in the series under my belt now. This voice needs to be reflected in volume 1 and retribution is the starting point. Now that I have the voice I can go back and make retribution reflect that style. This could not have been done in previous edits because it took until grydscaen: war volume 2 which was the 4th book released after beginnings and utopia to get the whole world flushed out, the psychic powers totally understood and the crux of the series and the main character Lino Dejarre matured or does mature in war.
It is interesting reading retribution thought the punctuation makes me cringe. I have always wanted to revisit it and fix it and now I am getting the chance to. I have cut entire paragraphs and dialogue that was extraneous and telling not showing. I have cut omniscient intrusion details that are not necessary which was an immature writer problem. I have cut description leaving it up the reader and I have enhanced the plot a bit since now with all the other books we know where we are going where retribution was a pantser rant through my rich world.
There is a map in beginnings that was not in retribution and retribution did not include the prologue which is now in every book. That was also something the reviewers asked for which is being added. I actually reminded myself right now I need to add it. I want to redo the beginnings map which is a subway map with stops and locations and put it in retribution so I need to get on that quick as beginnings was just submitted for republication.
The locations are set but the map is pretty ugly and childlike and needs to be redrawn. It is important to get it write with the redo. I will make it happen.
So yes, the punctuation changes are a chore but reading the book again is like looking into the past and getting an insight to who I was as a writer 8 years ago when I wrote the book. I can see what I have learned and how the characters have matured through the series and I can go back and make them stronger.
Yes editing like this is tedious but it is a labour of love and needs to be done. I want to make retribution the book it needs to be. I will edit round one of punctuation and minor line edits then go back in and really make it masterful on the second go through. I know what I want it to be I just need to get it there. Writing is a process and a fun hobby I have. I have been a full time technical writer and blogger at times in my work career but writing scifi and cyberpunk is my passion. Getting to reread retribution I can see where I came from as a writer and get insights into my psyche at the time. I have come a long way since retribution was first released and it is wonderful to see where I came from as a writer and honing my first work may be tedious but the final version will be rewarding and I am glad I get a second chance with this new edition planned to come out in winter 2018.