Tuesday, January 01, 2008

Typos

I've concluded that I need a ghost writer to proof everything I write: blog entries, comments on My Space, on blogs, letters to friends, notes on greeting cards, grocery lists . . .

I think I've ferreted out all the typos on my web page; I even spotted one in the first line this morning. I asked for other sets of eyes--my husband and my oldest--to scan the excerpt for me. My oldest caught a couple of things in it, not typos, but timing issues. He was exactly right. Someday, he's going to out write me.

Deciding how to start this book was tough. I still believe my first instinct (chat speak) was accurate, but that decision hasn't been without some worries. The way it's written, it's doing the same work as poetry in that it has to deliver its payload with a handful of words. Every phrase matters. I excel at this, but I'm not confident that agents are going to see it the same way.

My husband says to quit tinkering with it. Bless him. It's never going to be perfect.

Tomorrow I send off the first query letter.

2 comments:

Scotty said...

If you ever need another set of eyes, just ask and I'll help where I can.

You're missing an 'I' as the third word in the first line...

:-)

Mary O. Paddock said...

I might take you up on that Scotty. Thanks for the heads up on the missing pronoun.

The other thing I've got stop doing is writing without my glasses, but sometimes the other room is just so far away . . . :)