Above is a painting done by my sister, Nina, and given to me for Christmas. She has asked me to take a picture of it without flash. However, as I go to work in the dark and come home in the dark, it will be a while before I can do that. The flash makes a difference. It washed out some of the color. It is not as vibrant. And I am miserable at cropping. I think I will have to let her take the picture for her own website. She is not only an artist, but a photographer, too.
Is there such a thing as a final edit? Of course there is. It's called published!
ReplyDeleteMay this be the last time you have to do it.
Look forward to hearing about your next adventure :)
Wendy, I'm afraid it's not that simple. You still want to change things after it's printed. Even if you can't...
ReplyDeleteIt's about letting go, I think. And that's always difficult.
Let it go, Melanie, it's good and I think you know that it is.
In my humble opinion, both of you are correct. Wendy is correct in that once it is published, you can no longer revise. (Thank goodness) Jenku is correct in that you still WANT to revise.
ReplyDeleteAnd we are not alone in wanting to revise the published books. Janet Evanovich published several romance genre books before she hit the best selling big time with her absolutely marvelous mainstream Stephanie Plum series. When she eventually republished the old romances, even SHE made a few changes. Bless her for giving us all hope.
And as you edit remember that your publisher will want more editing so don't wear yourself out on this edit. Be glad you are not rewriting! Or ...getting ready to rewrite....finish up and, as jenku says: let it go!
ReplyDeleteOkay, okay. I'll finish up and let go. I'll just...let...it...go. Except for this one little thing that needs tweaking. Oh, and this other thing that really should be changed. And I really need to decide if I want to leave this other thing in or take it out.
ReplyDeletePublisher? You said a publisher will have more edits? Bring it on! I'm oh, so ready to do more edits!
Editor's note: Melanie Sherman is willing to make further edits based on the recommendations of agents/publisher's editors.
Beautiful painting, amazing story! Let your baby go out to the world! She is ready to be read by the masses!
ReplyDeletehey i have cropped your picture for you. Can't find your email. This is for you. http://bit.ly/90ShWj Let me know if you want me to remove it from my blog.
ReplyDeleteLyn,
ReplyDeleteHow very sweet. Thank you so much. :)
LOL...Revisions never end, I'm sure of it. Keep plugging away,then do it all again...100 times more :D
ReplyDeleteWell, that's what it feels like...lol...You're not alone.
Emailman,
ReplyDeleteThanks so much. Coming from you that means a lot, since you have published! Please comment anytime.
Gosh. I go away for a few days and look what happens. I'm famous around the world. Thanks for the plug.
ReplyDeleteIn one of my art books it says that until you have painted 1,000 paintings, you're still a beginner. I hope that doesn't also apply to edits, but I'll bet the process is similar.
On the other hand, sometimes one of my buddies will be half finished with a painting and we'll all say, "Stop right there! It's finished!" So, unfortunately, both of my advisements cancel each other out.
Heart, your sister. Oh. And I kinda like the effect of the flash.
Ari,
ReplyDeleteYour painting looks lovely on my blog, does it not? But even lovelier in person. When will your website be up and running so I may link to it? (I don't like the effects of the flash at all.)
Sending lots of good editing vibes your way ... I'm not sure it's ever finished ... but it does end :)
ReplyDeleteTess, thanks. I've finished my edits until someone tells me to do more. Then, back to the grindstone.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I find interesting, however, is how much I learned doing the five complete edits. Amazing.