Whew! Editing

Whew! I think that is what most are thinking now that we have our eBook almost completed. I know I was feeling the heat last week. When I was thinking about the editing that needed to be done on Wednesday I had to surprise a gulp. But that part is done!

My brother got married last Friday and so my family was in town. I was trying to juggle spending time with family and managing three other classes and final projects. It was no easy task but I did it. I don't think I would have accomplished all I did without technology.

Wednesday night after my classes and the bridal shower for my sister-in-law, and a surprise visit to the hospital (my sister had broken her foot) I bunkered down to do some editing. Nyssa had already sent me several of her edits to look over and I needed to start the manuscripts that she assigned me. I stayed up until I could not longer think straight. The next day I headed to grandparents. Luckily they had internet so I continued to work on my editing.

Unfortunately I didn't get finished with all the editing by the time I went to my other grandparents (they didn't have an internet). I finished the edits but I had no way of getting them to the proper individuals. I resolved to not worry about it until the following day (the wedding day). It was one crazy filled day but I managed to send off the edits that were needed and then returned to my family to enjoy their company.

All of this wouldn't have been possible if it hadn't been for technology. Before starting our editing we needed to get the author's permission that they had their final copy ready. I was stuck at the hospital thinking about all the editing I could be doing but I didn't have my computer nor a way to contact the authors. Then my mother pulled out her new phone and told me she had internet. I was able to get online and contact all the authors I was editing.

Once I got home I was able to start on the manuscripts. We used track changes in word which is really great to see what you have deleted or added, plus the editor can add comments to the author. It was really great since our edits were going through two people so that the previous person could see what had already been done. One thing that really helped me was showing the paper in the 'final stage' which enabled me to see the document with all the editing accepted. I was able to go back and forth looking at the final copy to the edited copy catching some mistakes.

My mother's phone came in handy again on Friday when we were traveling back from Salt Lake. I was able to access my email and stay in touch with the editing team in a quick and efficient way.

It was great working with Nyssa and Aly. Nyssa would send me her edits and I would then send it to the author. I would edit the manuscipts I was assigned and then send them to Aly. One thing that I think might have been easier in this whole process was making myself more available. It was really hard when I was without interent. I could check my email but I was unable to send the documents that I had edited.

This was the editing process for creating our eBook. If you want more narratives or a different narrative on the editing process check our Nyssa's and Aly's blog.