Friday, February 11, 2011

To Print or Not To Print

I ordered a new printer two days ago.

It arrived today.

And I am OVER THE MOON.

No... seriously.

I LOVE this thing.

It's a LASER printer!! I spent the last hour setting it up.

Nothing extravagant (it was dirt cheap), and it can't do more than print black and white, but it's SO fast for such a tiny little thing, and will have 400 pages sitting in front of me in no time at all AND I'll still have ink leftover! Which is more than I can say for my four year old Inkjet :)

I've been debating about this for over a year now. I really wasn't sure, but I eventually decided that at some point I would need to print out my MS for final editing and revisions (to send to agents?! Obviously that's quite a ways off)... I've done about 4 rounds of minor editing on the computer - finishing up the 5th round now-- but my old printer just wouldn't make the cut.

I can't wait to hold these pages in my hands! It somehow makes everything feel more real (or is that just me being overly excited again?). I actually want to take my pen and physically mark up those lines... see those scratches and side notes in my own handwriting.

Yeah, I need to get out more ;)

What's your take on this? Do you print out your MS for revisions or do you complete all your edits on the computer?

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

UPDATED: Join Rachael Harrie's Second Writers' Platform-Building Crusade! It's a great way to not only build your platform, but to connect with wonderful people on the same journey as you :) Click on over to get details and sign up!


36 comments:

Stephanie Thornton said...

I do a couple printed revisions- it forces me to slow down. But the majority of my revisions tend to be on screen. I revise a lot!

Lindsay N. Currie said...

Ugh, I'm officially jealous of your new printer!!! I usually make all of my revisions on the computer - I make so many that I could singlehandedly take down an entire forest of trees with the amount of paper I'd need LOL.

Melissa said...

OOO NEW PRINTER! And a laser one! I really want to get a laser printer. I printed my MS off for my family members and they read it. I was going to write edits down when I got the copies back but then I just started doing stuff on my computer......

Jamie Gibbs said...

All of my edits are on the computer. Once it's printed out it seems so...final, and I don't want to mess with it (that and I'm a bit of a cheapskate so I don't want to print it multiple times). I could do with a laser printer though...

Janet Johnson said...

Congrats on the new printer!

And I do a little of both. Depends on the mood and how much change is needed.

C. N. Nevets said...

I would print if I had a spiffy laser printer...

J.B. Chicoine said...

I remember the glorious day when my laser printer arrived!
Based on the premise that an agent might request hardcopy, I could justify the expense, but really, I got it so I could print out my manuscript (all nicely formatted, with artwork), make signatures and bind it up myself!

As far as edits go, I prefer to do it on my computer...

JE said...

I used to o them on the computer, but for the last one I printed it out. And I realized I caught WAY more errors when I had a hard copy in-hand. Everything will be printed out from now on!

~JD

Colene Murphy said...

Hard copy editing is soo informative! It's amazing what a person can miss on the computer screen, but when it's sitting in your hands, no error can hide!! I hope you have fun! Congrats on the new printer!

Ann said...

I write longhand. My first edit is when I type it into the computer. My second edit is on the computer. Then it is longhand again. But of course I am no way near your stage. A new printer sounds like just the ticket!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Nothing beats a new piece of computer equipment!!
And I print out my work. I find more mistakes that way. (Not sure that's a plus for printing or a minus for my writing...)

Kenda Turner said...

I print a lot--my inkjet friend has worked hard for a long time. But when I finally have to say goodbye to it, I'll take your advice and check out a laser printer!

alexia said...

With my first book, I had a few copies printed on lulu.com with a cover. I didn't do this until after my second draft - after I'd gone over my first draft and taken it from sucky to slightly less sucky. It really helped with editing to see it all on paper...

Rachna Chhabria said...

I revise a lot, so I do it on the computer. But its a great idea to print and revise.

Unknown said...

I just bought a laser printer that only prints black and white, too!

I love it as well! Squee!!! My pages come out so nice now. I do print out my manuscript so my mom can read it (she doesn't have a computer)

But for revisions, I just use the magnifying icon to see it from a different perspective.

Chris Phillips said...

I print it. I also love my printer because it's wireless.

The Words Crafter said...

Ooooo, a laser printer.....sounds technotastic! I'm just happy that ours is wireless.

Yep, I print out my stuff. It helps to find errors.

I have a goodie for you on my blog today!

Terri Tiffany said...

I take mine to Fedex and they print it out and put it in a nice spiral holder for about $17 for 260 pages shrunk down in font:) Cause I have a DRAGON of a printer!!

Denise Covey said...

I don't print anything out til it's finished.

I got myself a little laser about a year ago. So much cheaper than feeding the inkjet. I print a lot for my students. The only drawback with my laser is that it can print double-sided, but often jams when I do this so I have to stay with it and fiddle with the pages.

Denise:)

Kristal Lee said...

Fellow crusader dropping by to say "hey!" Yes, I print my MS and mark it up to my heart's content. Something about paper and a pen makes me feel like a writer.

Dawn Simon said...

Yay about the new printer! That's great! I love how excited you are.

I print a copy for final edits. For some reason, I seem to catch extra things with pen and paper. I keep a printed copy, too, because I worry about some fatal computer issue eating my completed manuscript. (That's my own personal paranoia.)

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Sari Webb said...

Hey fellow crusader! I'm currently editing my WIP too. Working on the computer at the moment but I definitely intend to print it out. I think I'm a lot more open to inspiration when I write or edit longhand :).

Angela Scott said...

I have a laser printer and I will never go back to inkjet.

Our eyes tend to get too used to reading a computer screen we tend to miss too much in the editing process. Printing a MS out on paper is great, but I was told to do one thing different to make it stand out--either print it in a differetn font, different size, or different color ink (which can;t do with laser black and white) just so our eyes can catch the mistakes.

Nice to meet you crusader. Have fun with the laser printer.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

I had to get new ink for my printer on the weekend. I just find printing up my MS so much easier for editing. I see so much more when it's in print rather than when it's on the screen.

Stephanie Skeem said...

Hiya, crusader,

I love Laser printers!! Specially when you have a 500 pg book you need to print. lol

Anywho.

Hope you have great day.

*Cheers*
Steph

Missed Periods said...

Definitely print out for edits. I don't know why, but reading it from a page changes the way I look at it.

Margaret said...

Jealous of your printer. I'm sure it will make life easier.

Michael Offutt, Phantom Reader said...

I do all of my revisions on the computer or alternately, I use my iPad and convert the ms to .pdf form so I can read it on the book reader and make notations.

henya said...

Congrats on your new printer. I do my edits both ways, depending on my mood.

Anna Banks said...

Grrrr! I'm so stinking jealous of your printer! I NEED one. It's not a want, it's a need. Food, shelter, clothing, laser printer. You catch so much more when it's printed!

Jai Joshi said...

Heck yes, print it out! You can edit all you want on the computer but you'll never really do it right unless you do it on paper. It's a number one rule of mine to edit the final round on paper, always.

I'm so jealous of your printer. Mine is an inkjet and it eats money for those dang cartridges.

Jai

Áine Tierney said...

To properly edit I have to see my ms on paper. I edit it on screen until I stop seeing problems, print it, and then start the cycle over again!

Kari Marie said...

Stopping by to greet a fellow crusader! New follower too. Looking forward to reading your blog.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations on the new printer - sounds like it will make your life a lot easier!

I currently complete all edits on the computer and then print to send off for appraisals and feedback etc. But I am starting to think that printing off a last copy to edit may be beneficial.... I may try it!!

Cathy said...

Hi fellow crusader. Just dropping by to follow for now ... will come back and READ again soon ...

Anonymous said...

I do numerous computer edits and then print out the MS for the final edit.

Right now I'm experimenting, using my Kindle to do final edits. I read on my MS on my Kindle and then take notes or type notes on it.