Monday, September 3, 2012

Using Your Kindle and Scrivener For Editing

I've blogged a couple of times recently about the editing process. I've written than I edit my first few drafts on-screen because they are very rough drafts. When I think I'm done editing on-screen I print a hard copy, in courier typeface. I catch many errors when editing on hard-copy that I missed when editing on-screen.

In the past, hard-copy-editing would be the end of the line for me. I'd go through a couple of printouts, then publish the ebook version of my book (after designing the cover, of course). I published my first two books to Smashwords and would download copies of both the EPub and Kindle versions to browse through, to ensure I'd gotten the formatting down. But I no longer publish to Smashwords because I got so few sales there and have come to believe that Amazon is my path to better sales.

I've recently discovered another beneficial mode of manuscipt editing: editing on my iPad using the Kinle app. Here's why I think self-published authors shouldn't ignore this valuable tool.

You should view and edit your work in every form your readers will be exposed to. 

CreateSpace will tell you to scrutinize the proof copy of your printed book; you should donthe same for the Kindle version.

I wrote my current novel completely in Scrivener for Windows. This software allows you to "compile" your novel in the Kindle format. (It does require you to download and install a free piece of software from Amazon.) Once the Kindle file has been produced, email it to your Kindle email address. In about ten minutes, your file will be downloaded to your device. Keep in mind you have to have approved the email address you use to send files to your Kindle. If you fail to do that, your file will not appear on your device.

Once you have your manuscript on your iPad, read and edit away. I highlight words or text I want to delete, without adding an explanatory note. If something's highlighted and there's no note, it means delete. If I want to change one word, I'll simply add a note to that word; no need to highlight anything. If I want to rewrite severals words, even a paragraph, I first highlight the text, then add a note with the changes I want made.

I haven't finished my Kindle edit, but I suspect what I'll do is set my iPad next to my computer and go through the file page by page, making edits and corrections where indicated.

I don't know if this can be done, but it'd be cool if I could send one of these Kindle files to a beta reader, have them make suggestions or notes on their device, then email the file back to me. I can't see how this would work on a regular Kindle, but it seems it would be possible on and iPad because you have access to many files on the iPad when it's plugged into a computer. Come to think of it, you also have access to files on a regular Kindle via a PC, as well. I'll have to look into this and report back.

The takeaway message is, try and view your work in every format your readers might view it in. Don't just edit, also check your formatting. See how the text looks on the page. Are there any huge spaces or tightly-bunched words that make the text look ugly. If the page looks ugly, it won't be inviting to read.

Now, get to work!

(No pictures or fancy formatting this time. I typed this post into Blogger from my iPad. We recently moved out of state and neglected to pack our monitors and keyboards. My wife will be here in a couple of days with the goods.)

10 comments:

  1. Ha...genius thinks alike agin

    I've been completing a last edit of my MSs on my tablet for...okay...only had the tablet for a year...but using it for that purpose, since.

    Have a great day

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    1. If you've your tablet to edit half the books you've published, you'd have worn your tablet out! Thanks for stopping by, Mac.

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  2. What a brilliant idea. I never thought of emailing the file to the Kindle, and going through it to edit.

    I think I'll use it to revise too. I'm much more relaxed away from my computer. I can make notes in Evernote too, about changes to structure.

    Thanks so much for this, I love it. :-)

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    1. Today I finished putting my Kindle edits into Scrivener. It was a great experience I'm sure I'll repeat. Thanks for your kind words, Angee.

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  3. I got Scrivener after last NaNo, but I'm not liking how it prints. Maybe someday I'll try it again because I know lots of people who love it.

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    1. Hi Donna. I had to fiddle with the settings to get it to print well for me. It's not real intuitive. Getting around in the manuscript is MUCH easier than it is with Word, though.

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  4. I recently downloaded my Word Doc WiP onto my kindle. Before chapter 3 I knew I had a bit more tweeking to do with the manuscript. It's amazing what boo-boos we find when viewing our work differently, isn't it??

    Great post & thanks for sharing.

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  5. Yes you can send the kindle mobi file to other Kindle users and they can read and mark it up on their Kindles no problem (I do this quite frequently with a batch of friends), but the problem is getting those marks they make back on your computer. Their notes and highlights are stored in a subfolder in the documents folder that goes by the same name as the book. They would have to import that folder with the file onto your Kindle for you to view it and it's kind of tricky if they're not computer savy. That's why I just send PDFs for them to mark up and then they can send me the marked up PDF back, which perserves the marks they make in the actual file (at least that's the way it is with the folks using the Kindle Fires).

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    1. Thanks for the feedback, Mr. Dithers. It's a little easier when they read the file on a PC, but you're correct, they still have to be a bit computer savvy.

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