Polishing Edits

Dear Vi,

It’s been awhile since I’ve mentioned the manuscript. Were you wondering what’s up with it?

Well, at the end of February I sent it out to a few friends who volunteered to be beta readers.

While they were reading, I put the manuscript away and moved on to other things. I felt so done with it, I really didn’t care if I never looked at it again.

But time passed and comments started trickling in, and the enthusiasm was so contagious that I felt ready to pull it out again and tackle the polishing.

I printed out the novel and have just finished reading it from start to finish with the handy red pen that my writing partner Holly sent. And because I literally haven’t looked at it for about six weeks, my eyes are fresh, which allowed me to catch a few things I hadn’t been able to see when I was deep in the throes of creation.

Believe it or not, this is the first time I’ve actually read it as a “real” book.  Just between me and you, Vi, it was an incredible experience. I felt…in serious awe of myself. I wrote a book! And it’s damned good!

Oh boy, you’ve no idea how hard it was to say that, having grown up in a serious never-toot-thine-own-horn culture!

What accomplishments are you proud of?

6 comments

  1. Nita, Yay for paper copies of our books! It’s amazing how impressive it feels to hold a physical copy of all your work in your hand! I imagine you’ve begun to find your way through the beta reader comments/critiques. Best of luck with that! Let us know how it goes.

  2. It IS a damn good book! Yay you and your red pen!
    ps. I got myself a purple one for writing in my notebook :)! May they bring us creativity and grammarly joy!

  3. I was thinking the same thing…that it’s so healthy to step away from our creative projects as we DO gain a new perspective. So glad your new view is inspiring and filled with pride.

  4. I never doubted you. I’m looking forward to being able to buy my own copy and become lost in the pages.

  5. It’s so helpful getting distance from your work. I won’t look at manuscripts for months if I’m doing polish edits, or sometimes years if I’m looking to overhaul the entire plot. It’s amazing how many mistakes you miss when you look at it over and over again.

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