THREE DAYS until submission!
I haven’t quite reached the peak of this ghostwriting mountain, but I have completed most of the final ascent. The steepest slopes are behind me. All that remains ahead is a short trek up the final ridge that ascends steadily to the summit. It doesn’t look too arduous, but the ledges are precarious and it’s a long way down. There are still plenty of opportunities to fall.
To put it another way, I’ve just finished working through all the editorial comments on the MS, leaving me the weekend to make a final pass, just to satisfy myself. This morning’s work involved more exciting battle action and (rubs hand in glee) a couple of juicy deaths.
Frankly, there wasn’t much editing to do, just a little trimming round the borders of the prose. The main stylistic tweak came in the final chapter, which uses an omniscient POV to create the equivalent of a cinematic zoom-out. Here and there, I’d zoomed out a tad too far, with the result that we felt somewhat detached from the characters. The issue was easily fixed with some judiciously placed moments of dialogue.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to swap my crampons for walking boots. The air is fresh and clear up here, and I intend to make the most of this final hike.
I tell you something. It’s a hell of a view.
Graham Edwards 