Getting The Boring Out Of The way
/Sample page of Saigami. Click for full size.
Typically once every two weeks I will receive somewhere between seven and nine pages from Seny for me to proof. Usually these pages are done, but sometimes she has to sleep, or eat, or any one of the millions of things people need to survive, and I get them in a state of incompleteness. Exactly how long Seny takes on each page is something I don't know, but I've read that it takes most professionals around ten hours to go from nothing to a finished page. She also works every other day at a hotel for 24-hour shifts; that she’s able to find roughly 70 hours to draw is amazing.
Who needs exciting pictures? Click for full size
I have a folder dedicated exclusively to Saigami. For the most part, it’s a dumping ground for all the pages I get. The pages are sorted by chapter for convenience. I have a Word document for proofs and another as a character bible that I build upon each time a character is introduced. Right now there’s not many, but soon I’m expecting to make multiple bibles, depending on character importance or role. In the future I plan to include locations, and I've been considering a Saigami style guide. Right now there’s not a lot of terms specific to Saigami, so a style guide isn't a priority.
Because what better way to break up text than with a picture of text? Click for full size
All of the Seny’s text, except sound effects, is then copied into Word, mistakes and all. Word has been an extremely convenient tool for me with its review tools. During the earlier days, I didn't know how to use them and I basically had to write the original line, the edited line, and any comments I had into each and every email I sent. At worst, this could take hours by itself, never mind that we were swapping letters long enough to set records. Now all of my corrections and edits are highlighted in red and I can comment as I edit instead of after. The only drawback is that tracked changes follow with the lines even after they’re copied and pasted. Seny is often rushed for time, so it can be tedious making copy/paste friendly lines for her to use. Recent developments have started to fix the tedious. Everything is saved as a PDF and emailed back after I've had a chance to play with things for a couple days.
I am an aspiring writer living in Ottawa, Canada, and the proofreader for the web-comic Saigami.
