Most of the readers are not aware that the first draft is generally obese in terms of word count. It is pampered with unwanted narration, senseless twists, and full of grammatical errors. The manuscript also reflects poorly in terms of research. These thorns are removed, the jarring softened and a bouquet of literary prose is created over several rounds of editing.
The act of redaction tightens the writing and therefore the story. It allows writers to delete hollow words, passive sentences and polish jagged flow. The final draft is typically achieved over half a dozen edits sometimes even more. The number of rounds of edits is a matter of debate and of course a personal choice.
The writer then decides to self-publish, opt for vanity publishing contract or seek the blessings of a traditional entity. Remember, “Traditional publishers looking for new authors” is just a myth.
Self-publishing is easy, offers unmatched control in terms of word count, cover design and gestation period. On the other hand opting for the traditional route can be emotionally painful. At the very outset it is difficult to grab the attention of renowned publishers as some of their prerequisites are extremely demanding.
Even if the writer is offered a publishing contract by a reputed publishing house it does not translate into a long vacation. On the contrary, the deal brings with it a baggage of responsibilities. And one of them is adjusting the word count … as per publisher’s demand. Now why would the publisher ask a writer to reduce the length of the book? The answer is lengthy books are unviable due to high cost of printing. This is especially true for debut authors.
Koffee with Kiran aka Latte Times faced a similar scenario. I was asked to reduce the word count from 86,000 to 60,000. A massive cut indeed! It not only meant deleting entire chapters but tightening the rest of the writing too. It was tedious, afflictive and somewhere along this treacherous editing path the original voice was completely lost. The book turned into a prairie land – like an event without a conflict. The final draft sucked because it also underwent in-house editing. It lacked depth, flow, voice and good prose. I wanted to get published but not in its current avatar. Over a period of time and after several rounds of adjustments the contract was called off.
And now, years later I am adding old and new chapters to Koffee with Kiran. It feels good to read in its entirety. I am sharing one of the deleted chapters. Hope you like it.
Read the deleted chapter on Facebook
OR
Read the deleted chapter on author website