Update on New Book

Secrets of Southern Gardening - Pro Tips for Success

Editing is like deadheading roses. You think you'll get each bad petal snipped, then you take a break, step back, look at the roses again and front and center, right on top of the bush, there's a big brown dead flower. How could you have missed it? Editing is trying to pick the flyshit out the pepper.

But that's what I've been doing this week when I have inside time to work. The wonderful rain gave me extra time inside this week so I bought QR codes, ISBN numbers, tweaked cover shots, wrote a short bio and edited the final, final time — here's my ongoing editing process:

This week I had to write a few brief descriptions of the book — required for Amazon and to get the QR code/ISBN. So I wrote it without looking at the word processing auto-corrects. Those little wavy lines don't bug me. But after a session, I go back and review the suggested auto-corrects if I agree with changes. Two out of three times, those are simply spelling and grammar but occasionally, the machine tries to correct my Southern diction so I usually cuss it a bit then go to step two.

Step two might surprise you. The steps have been the same for this new book from the start of the project: I use an AI system called Claude. It's a system built for writers. Still, I have to be very careful about what I ask the AI otherwise it does stuff I don't want like changing Southernisms and trying to make things sound more 'professional' which means bland. So I tell the AI to review the essay for grammar and spelling only but to leave colloquialisms and figures of speech. I can also specify formats — like if there's a list included, I can say I want bullets or stars or numbers.

But if you ever used any AI, which you probably have since Google gives AI results now, you know it has problems. Lots. So step three for this entire book was working with a professional editor. Every book I've done has had a professional, local editor. Actually, this one had two. My friend and confidant Trish McGlaughlin, (we've known each other since Riverbanks 30 years ago) did an online edit and the big, final paper edit was done by

Joshua Lavender

who did the dirty work of trying to figure out what I wanted to say and suggesting ways to do it.

As talented as he is, a few things get skipped in the double-spaced manuscript; a plural word needs an "s" and then there are captions that got added after he edited. Joshua and I want to co-write an essay about the process — it’s was especially weird as he was living on the farm, in our barn studio and I was in the throws of prostate complications. There’s gotta be a sad country song in that story.

So the next step is more editing in different formats. The graphics guy has been working diligently for months, so I print out each chapter and Tom and Bob did another check. Then one more print in a different format, called galley style (see photo) and my friend Betsy Kaemmerlen did a final, final review - she has a detail eye and she’s a landscape architect so give two kinds of commentary.

Galley format is simply double pages of the book printed on 11 x 17 paper.

All that picking of pepper and finally, graphics guy Marc has submitted the book to the printer. It’s over. Now it’s a book! Exciting. Well, sort of but it’s tough to be too excited since from today — it will be 12 more weeks till we get copies!

Dozen other people helped form and direct this book. Janisse Ray of course and my friend Melodie.  In fact, I occurred to me that two years ago, I was doing the exactly the same thing in Melodies pool – editing in the pool with Mel was a favorite story you can read at that link. 

This part of the process is exciting but honestly, I lament the end of it. Now for searching for promotion and press optrotunities.

And now, on this dawn the sun we haven’t seen in a few days cut through the fog and I’m excited to get back outside into the lily fields. (Note the giant flowering yucca at the end of this video is Yucca rostrata.)