Hard-Copy Editing and Pimping

[kriadydragon]

I wish printer ink didn't cost so much, because I really like editing hard-copies. It's a lot easier to "see" the story - the structure, the wording, even the plot (though I've only just finished editing the prologue). I would really love to be able to edit my fanfic this way but as I said, ink ain't cheap. Plus paper is limited and I imagine we'd go through both pretty dang fast if I edited hard copies of all the fanfic I wrote.

But if you already don't and are able, I highly recommend printing up a hard-copy of any story you write and edit it that way. If you already do this, then squee with me! Unless you hate hard-copy editing, then never mind.

Now to pimp:

sgahcchallenges presents:

easter 2010 hurt/comfort fic exchange

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Comments

[black-raven135.livejournal.com]

The cost of cartridges and paper is why I don't just print out stories I want to read, but I do know someone who only prints them out to read..........And speaking further of ink, I have been eying the refill cartridge offer at my local pharmacy, but not sure as my EPSON warns against using refills.
I really think editing would be much better if you had a hard copy although corrections/rewrites would be harder to do, whereas in WORD/OpenOffice, you can just make them.........It would be like returning to old fashioned typewriters.

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

I always edit on the computer first, sometimes twice, then follow with hard-copy edits. I double-space the chapters I print to make room for changes and notes, and what I don't have room for I write on the back. If the change is major, such as an entire re-write of certain paragraphs, then I keep my notes small and simple, letting me know what I need to change and how, then getting more down and dirty when I go back to the computer to insert the corrections.

After the hard copy edit, I'll print up the cleaned-up version for my sister and mom to read. Whatever mistakes they find. I correct, then will print up a third copy for another hard-copy edit. It'll either be after the third read or forth read that I will then send it to a professional editor.

Then I begin the arduous process of getting this sucker published :P

[black-raven135.livejournal.com]

Have you tried refills? that could cut down on ink cost appreciably.......
I am now paying $35 for a cartridge but McCanns charges $7 for a refill
I am really tempted. What I am afraid of is should it leak my carpet in
the den would be toast.........

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

Chalk it up to forgetfulness. We have a place... somewhere... where you can refill your cartridges, but none of us thinks to go there. We only ever get new ink when the cartridge is empty and whoever needs to print is desperate, then we only think to go to Walmart.

But as I said to Writer JC, since the big computer's crash forcing us to use my laptop, the ink has been lasting longer. My mom is usually the reason we run out of ink since she used to do all kinds of projects on the big computer that she can't do on my computer.

[flingslass.livejournal.com]

We use refills. The printer companies don't want you using the refill because then you are not buying their product. It hasn't hurt our Canon so far.

[black-raven135.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much.
I am encouraged to try the refills
It would be so easy...as McCanns is much closer than driving to
Staples or Office Depot and never mind the cost.

BTW

[black-raven135.livejournal.com]

I absolutely love reading ff on hard copy.......I used to print out
LOTR and take it with me when I had to wait and it was so much fun. . .

Re: BTW

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

One of these days I would like to print of favorite stories and store them in a notebook, just to have in case something happens to the various archives (or if a writer decides to take down their stories. It happens).

Re: BTW

[black-raven135.livejournal.com]

just to have in case something happens to the various archives (or if a writer decides to take down their stories. It happens).

That is exactly what my friend does........
She prints them all out
and places them in a notebook for safe keeping. And as you stated, if a writer suddenly pulls her stuff e.g. one who I really loved on M7
I no longer have any of her ff.
Nobody know why she did it.
??????
but we are all disappointed.
She wrote ~~great~~ angst/action/adventure and hc/whump........

Re: BTW

[writerjc.livejournal.com]

Is it bad to save them to disk? I have entire archives of stories that aren't available online anymore saved because sometimes I like to go back and read them. A lot of the Old School archives are gone for some fandoms so I'm glad I did. But ... I hope that's okay to do. I don't share them around or anything.

Re: BTW

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

That's a good idea, actually - saving them to disk :D That way you have them, but if you can't print them up at least they won't clutter your hard drive.

I don't see why it would be wrong. If anything it would be good since some disks don't allow you to make changes to whatever you save, so a writer wouldn't have to worry about someone tampering with their story.

I do know that some people say outright whether you need to ask permission to archive their stories. I'm sure they have their reasons for it. But I think the majority of writers are cool with people archiving. I know I am ;) Print, save to disk, save to hard drive - it's all good because I post this stories for others to enjoy :D

Re: BTW

[sholio]

I save them to disk! I have for about ten years now (luckily text doesn't take up much space!). For a long time I felt guilty and kind of tried to hide that I was doing so, because I was worried that authors would object. But within the last few years I've discovered that a lot of other fans do likewise, and I've never encountered an author who objected. So I wouldn't worry about it if I were you; you're definitely in good company, and even if the author *does* mind, they'll never know if you don't tell them!

Re: BTW

[writerjc.livejournal.com]

within the last few years I've discovered that a lot of other fans do likewise, and I've never encountered an author who objected. So I wouldn't worry about it if I were you; you're definitely in good company

Yay! This is good to know. :)

Re: BTW

[black-raven135.livejournal.com]

Disk? I had never thought of that.........you could just save the entire story........not the link as it is no good once the story has been deleted
for whatever reason.
Thanks!!
How much can you get on one disk?? I assume you are speaking of CD?

Re: BTW

[writerjc.livejournal.com]

By disk, I mean saving to my harddrive. But of course, you can also burn to a CD or data DVD if that's what you want.

Like Friendshipper mentioned, text doesn't take up much space. An example, every fanfiction I've saved since say 1992 or 93 takes up about 1 gigabytes. All of that would fit on two CDs, or one data DVD with lots of space left over.

Re: BTW

[black-raven135.livejournal.com]

I don't know why I did not realize C drive is what you are speaking of......
**rolls eyes**
I think I might just copy stories onto CDs and keep them..not the link
as often it is then gone, but the entire story.
I lost a few and now she has pulled them all.
I frankly do not know why she did it. They were all very good.
I found out how to save my bookmarks, but the stories has been a mystery
I don't want to use up my C drive
In fact the only stuff on there is mandatory, the rest is deleted or bookmarked on my browser
I know, it sounds a bit ditzy, but I think it is part of a desperate attempt to eliminate some of the clutter in my life.

Re: BTW

[writerjc.livejournal.com]

I still do this. :) Not LOTR, but other stories.

Re: BTW

[black-raven135.livejournal.com]

***nods***
there is something terrific about a hard copy.......isn't there?

[writerjc.livejournal.com]

When I write longer works, I find I do this too. Although usually only with sections at a time. I usually keep my margins wider when I'm working on a long WIP and make notes and highlight changes. I also keep a wirebound notebook and I'll code a changed scene with a circled number and do the rewrite in my notebook and then type the changes to the computer. This isn't usually for editing purposes though. This is usually the way I plot my way through long stories. Quite often my outline (such as it is) is hand written. But seeing and reading the words from the page helps me to get a better feel for how a scene or chapter is flowing if that makes sense. It also helps me to get away from the computer and other distractions to really concentrate on the story.

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

"But seeing and reading the words from the page helps me to get a better feel for how a scene or chapter is flowing if that makes sense."

It makes perfect sense. I find that a story is much easier and quicker to write when I've hand-written an outline. And hard copies of a story provide a different perspective that makes the story feel more fresh to my mind.

"It also helps me to get away from the computer and other distractions to really concentrate on the story."

And this is also why it makes sense. My laptop is currently located in a place where there's a lot to distract me. Not really a bad thing when writing, but it is when editing. Hard copies I can take anywhere and read at any time, so I don't feel as rushed and stressed about editing.

[writerjc.livejournal.com]

Squeeing with you - at work at least where paper is rather in high quantity.

At home I have a few tricks I use because I prefer to read long fics away from the screen. I buy inexpensive paper at walmart and reformat documents so that I can fit an 130,000 word story on about 60 double sided pages. (New Times Roman, 10pt font, line breaks changed to indented paragraphs, .25 margins) I tell my printer to print draft quality - black ink only and I refill the cartridges myself.

I have an HP all in one F340. New blk cartridges cost about $14 - ish. I buy a new one maybe once a year. I refill them until they die a painful death. I buy refill ink in bulk online. I got mine here: http://www.ims-ink.com/HTML/product_pg_1_5.html, which contains about 8 bottles @ 60 ml of ink each. So you end up with 480 ml of bulk ink for about $13. I can usually refill my cartridge maybe 5 times from one bottle (I'm kinda vague since I just pop open another bottle when one's empty). That amount of ink lasts me quite a while - like a coupla years or more.

But ymmv as I can't seem to refill a color cartridge to save my life. This only helps (me) with black ink. /end PSA

...continuing the squee. :)

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

*Iz jealous* We have a tiny, cheap printer, which means tiny, not so cheap cartridges that don't last too long. Or don't seem to last long. Before the big computer crash my mom would use the printer like crazy for various projects. Now that she can't do said projects, the ink has been lasting longer.

There used to be a feature on the big computer, though, in which you could print the document in less time and with less ink, but my laptop's program doesn't have that or I'd be printing fic like crazy :P

[writerjc.livejournal.com]

Well, if you're ever in the market. My current printer, which has been working like a champ for 3 years is currently on clearance for $49.88 at Walmart online. :) Oddly, refurbished ones are going for $120 - $140. Weird.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4837453

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

Oh, thanks :D

[coolbreeze1.livejournal.com]

I broke down and bought a b/w laser printer through Amazon when I went back to school. It cost be about $120, but it prints off 1500 pages per toner cartridge (and I found a place online that sells replacement toner for $15). However, I never print off any fic I'm writing/editing in hardcopy! I used to not be able to edit on the computer, then got a job editing business documents that were only on the computer. I got so used to it that now I just do everything on the computer.

The laser printer is the way to go if you're going to be printing a lot of stuff. It's an expensive initial investment but more than makes up for it when you're still using the same toner cartdridge a year later...

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

I edit on the computer, then do a hard copy edit. I think it's the change of perspective that makes it easier for me to edit. It makes the story feel more fresh, even though it wasn't that long ago I read it.

We always talked about getting a laser printer but at the time didn't have the money for it. Now we have to wait until our current printer is broken before getting a new one (we don't get anything new unless what we have breaks beyond repair).

[sholio]

I hard-copy-edit all my original fiction but don't do it with fanfic, because of the cost and hassle; for fanfic, I'm happy enough with the quality I get when I edit on-screen, but I have higher standards for original fic.

Like coolbreeze1 said, laser printers are *way* more efficient than inkjet -- you can get many more pages per cartridge. We just bought a really cheap laser printer for about $50 (I'm not sure where we got it from, because it was my husband who placed the order -- somewhere online, I'm sure); we don't know yet how long it'll last, but we haven't yet had to replace the cartridge in our older (and much more expensive) laser printer, and we've had it about three years now.

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

I wish I could do it with fanfic since it does make a difference. But, yeah, the hassle and cost isn't worth it.

When our current one breaks down we'll probably go for something nicer. We had talked about it, but got our current printer because we needed a printer right away and it was cheap.