Book Update: Editing

For those of you who wonder when the manuscript I’m writing about Faith Alive will be a book in your hands (or on your ipads), here’s the scoop. It’s coming. Really. I’m two years into this three-year project of research, interviews, outlining, writing, fact-checking, writing, getting legal permission forms, writing, etc. The manuscript is written, but it’s far from finished. It’s now time to put all those personal stories together and start the arduous process of editing as a cohesive whole.

Before I show the entire work to a professional editor, I need to self-edit. That basically means I want to pick up the manuscript, think like a reader and say, “Hmmm. What advice can I give this writer?” I’ll be looking for more than grammar and sentence structure—things like flow, characterization, voice and point of view that many readers don’t realize are the building blocks of a great story.

I’ve heard that editing is what transforms mediocre writing into something that people want to read so much that they don’t need a bookmark. That it makes the difference between ordering an advance copy because you’ve heard it’s a must-read or heaving it, unread, into the garage sale pile.

Here’s to doing my best for God’s glory in a way that inspires readers to draw closer to Jesus Christ and transform suffering into service.