So… the last Editing Diaries post I wrote was posted at the end of August. Now, it’s December. That means I should’ve finished editing The Dream for the final time, right?

Hahahaha, keep dreaming.

However, I did finish another round of edits, so let me tell you a little more about that.

If you would like to recap on the previous Editing Diaries entries for The Dream, you can read them here:

• Editing Diaries: The Dream (Episode 1)
• Editing Diaries: The Dream (Episode 2)
• Editing Diaries: The Dream (Episode 3)
• Editing Diaries: The Dream (Episode 4)

Fifth Read Through/Fourth Round of Edits–Read on Kindle: October/November 2023

During the last Editing Diaries post, I mentioned that I was going to try to do the fifth read through/fourth edit in September or October. That read through ended up starting on October 29th, and lasted until November 4th.

This was the first read through I’ve done since the Big Changes mentioned in the last post, and whew, y’all, it was SO MUCH BETTER. One character in particular got some redemption that they desperately needed, and a certain argument I had a terrible time writing in earlier drafts has finally been smoothed out. That one character’s attitude adjustment also worked splendidly, thank God, without taking away too much of their frustration.

I have no idea if this is making any sense, but just roll with it for my sake. XD

As far as implementing edits for this round, it was pretty easy. The only things I found were minor and mainly consisted of typos, formatting issues, etc. Despite the edits being easy, it took me from November 13th to December 5th to implement those changes, because we’ve been far busier than I’ve ever wanted to be and, ugh, adulting is painful.

What’s Next?

…Do y’all hear that scary music? You know what that means!

Ugh, I don’t really want to do this, but it must be done. -_-

I’m thinking the next round of edits, that will hopefully start when I have time off for Christmas, will be the infamous Word Search Edit. *Dun dun DUN*

What’s the Word Search Edit? This post explains the basics of it under the Read-Through 6 section.

It’s quite a pain, but it makes for a much better manuscript. Pray for me as I tackle this, please!

Talk to Me, Arrowheads!

If you’re a writer, what stage are you at on your current work-in-progress?

If you’re a reader, I feel like I say this every time, but I’m sorry it takes me so long to release my books. I wish I could release them faster, but that’s life with part-time authorship, a full-time job, and adult responsibilities. At this stage in my life, I just can’t release them any faster without sacrificing quality, and sacrificing quality is the last thing I want to do. Thank you for your patience.

Aim high, stay strong, and always hit your mark.

-Allyson 😀