The Ghostreader Speaks

Way back when... well, in January at least, I decided to edit instead of rewrite Freeborn and Freegiven. And immediately proceeded to do nothing about it. Which is understandable, considering I was just starting a new semester of college and writing two other books. But now college has settled into a steady routine (Three cheers for only one class!), I've laid one of those books aside until I can do the proper research (Grudem's Systematic Theology, anyone?), and Feather and Fang's plot is sufficiently intertwined with that of Freeborn to enable me, nay, require me, to actually begin editing my first true novel.
Now, as most of you readers (who also happen to be writers) are probably keenly aware, editing is a lengthy process involving multiple rereads, countless mark-ups, and almost always several other editors who assist the author with a fresh set of eyes. And while I fall back on these tried and true methods soon, I think I've discovered a method that will allow me to edit mostly on my own.

The trick? Get someone to read it to me.

But, wait... you just said you were going to edit it alone...

I am! The reader I speak of is a ghost, or rather, a Ghostreader. This nifty program (for Macs only, I'm afraid), has some of the best computer voices I've ever heard. Basically, they doesn't sound like a computer. Period. Now, the actual program costs $40, but you can get a free demo for fifteen non-consecutive days (Which is a pretty sweet deal, if you ask me). But, enough of product placement, how exactly does this help me?

Well, first of all, having a British person read your own story back to you is simply awesome. And the best part is, she reads all the typos and doesn't read the words I forgot to put in! So now I can listen as I read, and catch all the mistakes my eyes gloss over or my brain fills in automatically. And second, I'm editing instead of reading, so things move a lot quicker. And not having to focus on picking out every single comma misplacement or missing word means I can pay attention to how the pacing flows, how dialogue moves, and any continuity errors.

For instance, I'm currently editing a scene where Farjag is captured by a shieldsfell Containment patrol. Originally, they just came barging in, surrounded him, and immediately set about Containing him. But what I realized is; if he's one of the last freeborn still uncontained, then the shieldsfell aren't going to suspect that he still has the ability to alter. Their commander keeps sending them out on these patrols, but none of them really believe there are really any more freeborn out there who haven't been contained. Also, they way I portray the shieldsfell during the rest of the book didn't really match with how I was drawing them here. So I drew out the scene a little bit, got some banter between Farjag and Patrollen Slarx, and in general reworked the shieldsfell into a little more of the shape they appear at the end.

And it's way better. What about you? What methods do you use to edit your writing?