I often refer to my first book publishing experience as an ultra trail running experience. Due to the fact that I ran on passion and determination, without the benefits of proper gear and research meant it was harder than perhaps it needed to be. Nevertheless, I eventually made it to the finish line, and learned many things along the way.
One of the things I learned, is to read your story aloud to yourself and if possible record it and play it back. I had read this advice several times during my journey but kept putting it off until another day, thinking it would not make a lot of difference. Last week, I finally took the plunge. I went to photo booth on my Mac and pressed record, and it worked! So I sat myself down, placed my ipad with the text ontop of the laptop and started to read.
This youtube video is the first, unedited, uncut version of my read aloud. Guess what? The advice given, was correct. I stumbled over a few words which led to even further editing of my text, a process which seems to be never ending. When I wrote my story, I had absolutely no idea about the extent to which a text can be edited.
At the moment I am reviewing my text and layout for a second edition.