Okay, major over-posting today, but I think I'm done editing (except for maybe some executions of head shakes and nods)... which is good for my psyche and my wife's (who will attest to the fact that I'm a major bear -- euphemism alert -- during the process)... Cut it down from 76,158 to 68,607 -- which, for you mathematical types out there, is 7,551 words cut... not Mr. King's 10%, but I'll take 9.91% and round up :) -- much closer to my original goal of 65K...
Here are some random stats:
Cut down from 40 shrugs to 10 shrugs (now the shoulders won't be as tired :)
Cut down from 6 sighs to 6 sighs (okay, didn't cut any, but I can live w/ 6)
Cut down from 63 whispers to 19 whispers (now the throats are spared :)
Cut down from 420 'as's to 321 'as's :)
Cut down from 840 'ly' suffixes to 725 : /
Cut down from 717 'was's to 589 : /
Cut down from 30 'had been's to 23 : /
Cut down from 81 'shook his head's to 73.
Cut down from 80 'nodded' to 79 (evidently, nodding is more important :)
Cut down from 9 eye-rolls to 9 eye-rolls (yeah, didn't cut these, either ;)
Cut down from 59 'began's to 44 : /
Time stats:
Writing: 3 months... probably 200 - 250 hours
Post-editing: 2 weeks... probably 50 - 75 hours
Query: 1 week... probably 5 - 10 hours
Synopsis: TBD :(
None, of this, of course, accounts for contemplation time :)
Way to go. Congratulations.
ReplyDeleteHurrah Bane!!! It's a good feeling :)
ReplyDeleteWhat's your next step?
Wow--excellent!
ReplyDeleteYour post cracks me up! This is exactly the kind of metrics I look at while revising also :)
ReplyDeleteLT - next step... world domination ;) -- or, maybe posting the first chapter or 2 to see if anybody's interested in betaing... not sure...
ReplyDeletePJ - I imagine it's the inner engineer that drives us toward this sort of analysis :)
Congrats Bane! Hmm...mathematical stats--time for me to phase. Oh, hang on, I just cut my 'ly's from 1448 to 272. Neener, neener!
ReplyDeleteSo, your wife is beening rewarded with a foot rub right about now...
WORLD DOMINATION! is an admirable goal, to be sure. :)
ReplyDeleteI can't believe you counted all this out! That's such an engineer thing to do....JK
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty impressed at those stats! I'm afraid I'm not that analytical, but maybe I should run some numbers after my beta readers get back to me.
ReplyDeleteAnd if you're looking for a blogosphere beta buddy, I'd be happy to read your manuscript!
272 -- wow!.... I might have a new goal this weekend :)
ReplyDeleteAnita, it actually didn't take more than 10 minutes... admittedly, time I could have spent more fruitfully, but my left-brain demanded my compliance :)
Stephanie, thanks... I'll probably post 1st chapter over the weekend just so people can look before leaping :)
Awesome! And sometimes your characters have to nod, sigh, and roll their eyes. It wouldn't be a story without at least 6 sighs, 79, nods, and 9 eye rolls, right?
ReplyDeleteSusan, the nods and head shakes are a bit high, methinks... were I truly diligent, I'd go count through a book of similar length and genre and determine my limits. Alas, I'm not that bad (yet :)
ReplyDeleteI love this post. Not only is it the kind of thing I would do (should do!), but it's encouraging to know that even after your post on cutting stuff, there's still some stuff that just didn't get cut :-)
ReplyDeleteAlso, you write fast!
Bane --
ReplyDeleteAs the son of one engineer, the brother of another, and a close friend with a third, I feel it's my duty to tell you that it's OK to not count the number of nods and head shakes in a book of similar length (Dad's an MechE, big sister's a CompE, and friend's an ElectE, btw). ;)
That said ... good work on cutting out all those things. That's a big accomplishment akin to finishing the draft in the first place. Good work, sir. Good work.
L.T. --
Somehow I think we'd conquer the world and then get distracted by something shiny (well, I would at least. Dunno about everyone else).
Matt, thanks... wow, how were you lucky enough to escape the engineering vortex :)?
ReplyDeleteAdam, just did a check and I've got 7 deep breaths (another figure I can live with). Analytics are fun and useful, but I wonder if they might be like Kate Moss photo collection for an anorexic.
Bane --
ReplyDeleteI despise most math with the fiery vengeance of a thousand supernovas. Oddly enough, I love carpentry, astrophysics, and tinkering with machinery. Long story short ... I enjoy words far more than I enjoy numbers.
Matt, smart man, very smart man :)
ReplyDeleteDang, 3 months, Bane? That's FAST! Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteWow! That's impressive, Bane. But if I posted a similar rundown, your eyes would water! Trust me.
ReplyDeleteTMI dude. Interesting, though. I read the whole list.
ReplyDeleteGuess that says something abut me too, huh?
........dhole