First Week of Editing "Jefferson’s Masterpiece"

I enjoy editing.

As expected, I was not able to complete the first full edit of Jefferson’s Masterpiece last week. The first reading always takes longer. It will take less time with each succeeding read-through. I will continue to edit the manuscript until I am satisfied with the story.

My first rule of editing is to make certain the text makes sense – the sentences and paragraphs are clear and concise. The second rule is to make certain the tone and level of writing are consistent and appropriate for the intended audience. After that, I look for grammar, spelling, capitalization and punctuation errors, subject-verb agreement, sentence fragments and run-on sentences, and proper formatting.

Each time I read one of my manuscripts I can always find something that needs to be changed: a better word for one I had used; or a phrase, sentence or paragraph that would work better in another location or that’s not really necessary. I also find places where additional dialogue or more detailed explanations are needed. That’s why I enjoy editing, being able to make something better, especially when it’s my own.

While I continue to edit, my wife Beverly will work to create a design for the inside pages. She is a graphic designer with experience in print and television broadcasting.

We have decided to have a two-page graphic introduction for each chapter. Our goal is to produce a book that will have graphical appeal to the young readers and, hopefully, mature readers as well.

I sincerely appreciate you reading this week’s Journal,

Dennis