Edits Sent!

Whew! It’s been a crazy couple of weeks. I turned in my first edits for Valkyrie’s Kiss last night. My second editing experience was just as much of a learning experience as the first! In fact, one of my favorite things about publishing is the editing process.

This morning, while I hung my head over a cup of extra strength coffee and muttered something about going to bed right after dinner tonight, my daughter said, “I thought editors did all the work.”

I think this is a commonly held belief. I’m sure I thought the same thing at one time. I would write my novel and an editor would come along, like a pen wielding fairy godmother, and make it all beautiful and perfect. The truth, of course, is something else entirely!

I love my editor. She’s honest. She’s encouraging. She’s good. She forces me to be a better writer. Yes, she catches those tiny typos and formatting errors, but the best part of the editing experience is story editing. That’s where the magic happens. That’s also where you feel like throwing your laptop through a window or torching the pages and pages of your red-inked manuscript. It’s extremely frustrating. It’s also a wonderful opportunity to grow.

After this second round of editing, I feel like a better writer. I can’t wait to publish another manuscript, just so I can go through it all again!