Today is the twentieth in a series of posts by San-Diego-based writer Thomas Shess who has decided to keep a journal on his journey to find a publisher for his novel.

Breaking Rules. One of the facts of life we rookie novelists learn is to avoid showing work in progress to friends, family and other loved when seeking constructive criticism. Unless your pal or dearly beloved is a Nobelist in literature, the advice session ends up a mano y mano between amateurs. I stuck with that advice throughout the writing of my novel.

But what about copy editing? Fixing a mss. for spelling and grammar requires a great pair of eyes. In the 20 weeks that I've been chronicling my search for a literary agent or publisher, I've shared with readers my decision-making process. My latest being I've picked someone already familiar with my writing to copy edit my recently revised novel.

New copy editor. I hired Zachary Shess to copy edit my 79,000 word mss. Before you can say "nepotism begins at home," Zachary has a journalism background with more than 15 years experience in high-tech journalism and marketing communications. I am comfortable working with my eldest son. He's not a kid. At 37, Zac has copy edited many of my magazine articles with a much-needed crispness. My mini-team consists of a rookie fiction copy editor and a veteran book editor with dozens of successful published works under his belt. I like the balance, especially since both gentlemen have a first-rate command of grammar, usage and have that eye for detail that we all need.

New Synopsis. Book editor Mike Sirota, strongly suggested I rewrite the synopsis when he began working with me. Last week, I sent over a second version.

Synopsis Exam. Sirota took about a week less to edit my synopsis than the time it took for me to write my new version. He emailed me back rather quickly saying my rewrite was "a good effort." He added that I grasped the concept about what a synopsis is supposed to accomplish and that is to address the essence of my story.

"Good teachers delegate, and accordingly I have an assignment for you. An easy one. Go through it one more time and find some of those unnecessary words yourself, enough so that the synopsis ends on three (single-spaced) pages. That requires the termination of a measly eight lines. Then, return it to me, and I'll have my go at it."

Back to the Future. I agonized over the rewrite of my third synopsis in a week. I didn't see a way to cut half a page and have the synopsis work. Then it struck me. Go word by word. It worked. By lopping unnecessary adjectives and reworking sentences, I met my goal. Eagerly I zipped the new version to Sirota.

The Verdict. Two days later, Mike Sirota e-mailed: "...OK, I've had my go at your latest synopsis. Attached is a tracked version showing you all the changes, and a single-spaced version, now two-and-a-half pages long, tighter and most functional. Some things might change as you rewrite the book, but that's no problem. Anyway, you now have a Mary Poppins synopsis, 'practically perfect.'"