On the other hand. . .
I've recently completed reviewing the copyedited manuscript for The Cowboy Girl. I took two positives out of the experience. 1) The copyeditor said she had required just a light touch; that meant the process was not difficult for me. 2) I still enjoyed reading the manuscript. I would get wrapped up in it and forget that I had planned to enjoy another beautiful summer day.
So all in all, it was good. On the other hand, the strangest part of the experience was having someone so thoroughly analyze my writing style. For example, the copyeditor enforced the grammatical rule that a sentence beginning with "Not only..." should then pivot on "but also..." Turns out I rarely insert the "also." It was no problem to let her insert all those "also"s -- but it was puzzling to see how frequently I used that construction.
The biggest surprise, though, was my use of "on the other hand." The copyeditor enforced a grammatical rule requiring each use of "on the other hand" to be preceded by "on the one hand." I don't really care for the phrase "on the one hand" but I couldn't find any grammatical expert who would let me get away with not using it. So we ended up having to rewrite most of those sentences. And the surprise was how much I use that phrase!
Though on the other hand, maybe it shouldn't be a surprise.
I'm always interested in feedback, via info at johnclaytonbooks...
So all in all, it was good. On the other hand, the strangest part of the experience was having someone so thoroughly analyze my writing style. For example, the copyeditor enforced the grammatical rule that a sentence beginning with "Not only..." should then pivot on "but also..." Turns out I rarely insert the "also." It was no problem to let her insert all those "also"s -- but it was puzzling to see how frequently I used that construction.
The biggest surprise, though, was my use of "on the other hand." The copyeditor enforced a grammatical rule requiring each use of "on the other hand" to be preceded by "on the one hand." I don't really care for the phrase "on the one hand" but I couldn't find any grammatical expert who would let me get away with not using it. So we ended up having to rewrite most of those sentences. And the surprise was how much I use that phrase!
Though on the other hand, maybe it shouldn't be a surprise.
I'm always interested in feedback, via info at johnclaytonbooks...
