More About Editing

I am editing both of my books simultaneously, which is an interesting process. I am working on first edits for Parsifal, and am walking around with a hard-copy markup version of sections of the manuscript (it's 600 pages long, so I only carry around one quarter of it at a time). I work on reading and proofing it when I have time. I am also working on what I devoutly hope are final edits to The Flower of Knighthood, and I type in those changes when I have time for that. I said earlier that I realized in writing the second book that there were some changes I could make to the first one that would improve it, and that is carrying through the editing process, too. Comparing them as I move back and forth between them is enlightening. They are similar in style, but they have some deep differences, too. I remember the exact situations in my life from which they arose, and it is a developing curve of completion that has produced both of them. They fall in different points on that curve and I had diverse preoccupations at those times. I am improving both of them by working on them together; doing so is helping me formalize a tight, cohesive style that carries across multiple volumes. I can't wait to write the next one and see what happens there. I've also written a short new scene in Parsifal that gives closure late in the book to a small but significant plot point. Awesome.