Revision

A Quick Revision Update

Since Revision 3 was completed on 22 Jan 2018, three more revisions were completed for the Van Helsing Paradox. These revisions all aimed at improving the overall readability of the manuscript.Of note there were 1827 revisions and a averaged 38 words between corrections for Revision 3. This followed the trends noted during my review of the Grand and that remains true with this project. The particulars of the cycles are as follows:

Revision 4

Revisions – 928
Revisions per Word – 70

Revision 5

Revisions – 825
Revisions per Word – 78

Revision 6

Revisions – 788
Revisions per Word – 147

The Revisions per Word metric is the most telling, every additional revision leads to fewer corrections to make. While corrections do tend to be grouped together in the manuscript, I can now read pages at a time without making any notes. This trend is expected to continue until the Revisions to make number under 100. That’s normally my cue to send it off to my editor for polish prior to release.

The End of the Fourteenth Cycle

Even Things That Go Bump in the Night Need a Place to Unwind

I have completed my fourteenth review of the Grand. This review resulted in a 42% decrease in corrections when compared to the thirteenth cycle. Ethereal Nights had the most substantial drop of 88%, while Penny Dreadful increased by the 400%. Overall, there were 45 corrections which averages 3 changes per chapter.

About half the chapters saw a drop in changes during this cycle. Of note, One Flight Over averaged of 4,452 words between corrections. Here is a summary for this cycle:

There was a 42% drop in corrections when compared to revision thirteen;
45 modifications for the entire work;
3 modifications per chapter;
Ethereal Nights had the most substantial drop at 88%;
Penny Dreadful increased by 400%; and
One Flight Over averaged 4,452 words between corrections.

These revision took far less time than revisions prior to seven and for the following reasons:

It takes far less time to run through the material;
There are far fewer errors to find with an average of 1,951 words between corrections. This improves on the 1,209 words per change seen in revision twelve and is the first above a thousand; and
Changes implemented are minor in scope.

This is effectively makes this revision my last. I have handed the work over to a copy editor and will include those changes in what would be officially known as the fifteenth revision. Also, since revision zero was my first revision the grand total would be sixteen total revisions to get this novel ready!

8 April 2017 By Evelyn Chartres Leave a Comment Filed Under: Revisions, The Grand Tagged With: Ethereal Nights, Ghost Story, Historical, Immortal, One Flight Over, Penny, Penny Dreadful, Revision, Revision 14, The Grand, The Grand Project

The End of the Thirteenth Cycle

Even Things That Go Bump in the Night Need a Place to Unwind

I have completed my thirteenth review of the Grand. This review resulted in a 15% decrease in corrections when compared to the twelfth cycle. Journey Through the River of Belief had the most substantial drop of 50%, while Old Soul increased by the same amount. Overall, there were 77 corrections which averages 5 changes per chapter.

About half the chapters saw a drop in changes during this cycle. Of note Penny Dreadful averaged of 4,292 words between corrections. Here is a summary for this cycle:

There was a 15% drop in corrections when compared to revision twelve;
77 modifications for the entire work;
5 modifications per chapter;
Journey Through the River of Belief had the most substantial drop at 50%;
Old Soul increased by 50%; and
Penny Dreadful averaged 4,292 words between corrections.

These revision took far less time than revisions prior to seven and for the following reasons:

It takes far less time to run through the material;
There are far fewer errors to find with an average of 1,209 words between corrections. This improves on the 819 words per change seen in revision twelve and is the first above a thousand; and
Changes implemented are minor in scope.

I expect to keep pushing through these revisions until the total amount of corrections drop well below 50 for the manuscript. So as it stands, I expect there is one revision left.

25 March 2017 By Evelyn Chartres Leave a Comment Filed Under: Revisions, The Grand Tagged With: Ghost Story, Historical, Immortal, Investigation, Journey through the River of Belief, Old Soul, Penny, Penny Dreadful, Revision, Revision 13, The Grand, The Grand Project

The End of the Twelfth Cycle

Even Things That Go Bump in the Night Need a Place to Unwind

I have completed my twelfth review of the Grand. This review resulted in a 40% decrease in corrections when compared to the eleventh cycle. Siamese Dreams had the most substantial drop of 64%, while Penny Dreadful had a 25% increase. Overall, there were 91 corrections which averages 6 changes per chapter.

About 94% of the chapters saw a drop in changes during this cycle. This is the first cycle where the amount of changes are less than one per percent and the Mad Hatter’s Mirror averaged of 1,423 words between corrections.

Here is a summary for this cycle:

There was a 40% drop in corrections when compared to revision eleven;
91 modifications for the entire work, the first time changes are less than one per percent;
6 modifications per chapter;
Siamese Dreams had the most substantial drop at 64%;
Penny Dreadful increased by 25%; and
The Mad Hatter’s Mirror averaged 1,423 words between corrections.

These revision took far less time than revisions prior to seven and for the following reasons:

It takes far less time to run through the material;
There are far fewer errors to find with an average of 819 words between corrections. This improves on the 520 words per change seen in revision eleven; and
Changes implemented are minor in scope.

I expect to keep pushing through these revisions until the total amount of corrections drop well below 50 for the manuscript. Since there was no change from the previous revision, I expect there are 2 revisions left.

18 March 2017 By Evelyn Chartres Leave a Comment Filed Under: Revisions, The Grand Tagged With: Investigation, Mad Hatter's Mirror, Modern, Paranormal, Penny, Penny Dreadful, Revision, Revision 12, Siamese Dreams, The Grand, The Grand Project

The End of the Eleventh Cycle

Even Things That Go Bump in the Night Need a Place to Unwind

I have completed my eleventh review of the Grand. This review resulted in a 13% decrease in corrections when compared to the tenth cycle. One Small Step had the most substantial drop of 40%, while Journey Through the River of Belief had a 29% increase. Overall, there were 151 corrections and gives us an average of 9 changes per chapter.

About 56% of the chapters saw a drop in changes during this cycle. Penny Dreadful is the first chapter to have an average of 1,073 words between corrections.

Here is a summary of the cycle:

There was a 13% drop in corrections when compared to revision ten;
151 modifications for the entire work;
9 modifications per chapter;
One Small Step had the most substantial drop at 40%; and
Journey Through the River of Belief had a 29% increase in changes.

These revision took far less time than revisions prior to seven and for the following reasons:

It takes far less time to run through the material;
There are far fewer errors to find with an average of 520 words between corrections. This improves on the 432 words per change seen in revision nine; and
Changes implemented are minor in scope.

I expect to keep pushing through these revisions until the total amount of corrections drop well below 25 for the manuscript. Since there was no change from the previous revision, I expect there are 1 to 3 revisions left.