Punks and Poets Blog: Charles R. Cross, Editor

 

The book project started with this email to Charles through this Facebook message in 2023.

The first draft was corrected in February of 2024. I’ve left out the three pages of corrections that followed his positive comments.

Pink Umbrellas Love Rainydaze was a jumble of mixed metaphors and misplaced punctuation.

I was yet to discover Grammarly. I thought using A.I. programs to copyedit was “cheating” (I was wrong). 

Charles R. Cross copyedited, cajoled, critiqued and conjured a clearer literary voice from these rough drafts. It was a masterclass. He encouraged me to learn from my mistakes and do the editing work myself.

The plan was to have Charles proofread Pink Umbrellas in 2025. Sadly, Charles won’t be sending more tutorials like these, but the collection of short stories has progressed toward E-book publication on Kindle: April 1, 2025.

The following screenshots are from editorial comments made during February of 2024 on the first draft. The first chapter was copyedited twice (see comments).

I originally wrote about a series of Dizzy Gillespie Quintet (jazz) shows I’d seen in Pioneer Square at The New Orleans Cafe in chapter one. 

I covered jazz, R&B, funk, blues and alternative music for The Rocket and my cousin, Bob Barr’s magazine, City Heat. I thought it important to recognize the diverse music (often) represented by The Rocket, City Heat, The Stranger and The Weekly. I loved grunge but those primo assignments went to senior writers like Gillian Gaar. 

I loved my assignments but wasn’t limited to those shows. I danced at The Vogue, The Monastery, Timberline, The Frontier Room, Astor Park, Off Ramp, Neighbors, Re-Bar, Celebrity, Larry's Greenfront, The Central, The Croc — basically everywhere.

Charles agreed with the diversity in The Rocket but noted that the book was about the grunge scene and might be confusing for readers. 

He was right. I re-wrote Chapter One. He edited it again.