I am both pleased and disturbed by how little of Neyuki’s content I sacrificed in whittling down the word count so significantly. It implies my original writing was wordy and repetitive.
Don’t spend $30/month for AutoCrit. Spend $1 instead and try it out. It will make you all the more thankful that there are talented human beings who are actually willing to edit another person’s work.
Editing is a painful process. It hurts to erase words that feel emotionally invested. But then you read it again, and the benefit shows. Under Shōko’s Bed is nearly complete.
If I want Under Shōko’s Bed to touch people, they have to read it, and my editor reinforced that the plot has to move, the tension has to increase and the pace has to quicken as the novel approaches its climax, and then it needs to end promptly.
