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Maybe I do need a governess!

I was so proud of the manuscript I submitted for editing. I worked diligently to clean it up and tighten it up. I was almost convinced there'd hardly be any work left for my editor. After all, I'm the person many of my family and friends go to when they need grammar advice. Ha! I heard from my editor almost two weeks ago. I was so delighted and excited to receive her email. But very soon after reading the annotated file with comments and countless red (deletion), blue (addition), and green (move) marks, I understood the advantage of hiring a professional. Yes! I do need a governess an editor! This process has taught me a lot about myself as well as what goes into publishing a book:

  1. Very quickly, I caught on that I was going to need thick skin. To quote an author I met yesterday, "You need skin as thick as an elephant's when you're in the editing stage." My editor's job is to help the manuscript be the best it can be, and sometimes that means saying good-bye to parts that were precious to me.
  2. I crave affirmation. This I knew already, but I felt my heart sink a little when I reviewed a part I thought was especially witty or poignant, and there was no, "Atta girl!" comment on it. (Even worse, sometimes she recommended leaving out some of those parts.)
  3. Writing a book is A LOT of work. Writing the words is just the beginning.
  4. Sitting at a computer for hours a day may result in one's daughter saying to her at supper, "Mom, what's going on with your eyes? They're totally bloodshot!" There's a reason I'm on long-term disability.

    5. After almost two weeks of steadily working on the revisions and trying to remember to blink, I finally emailed my editor back and put the ball in her court. Phew!
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  1. AnonymousOctober 1, 2024 at 12:47 PM

    It's a good feeling when you send the work back to your editor. It is so much work! Don't give up!

    ReplyDelete

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