WHAT IT'S LIKE EDITING ON A DEADLINE

Hey All!!!
For the past few weeks I've been crazily focused on the edits for my book. This is nothing new. Dealing with hours of editing kind of comes with the territory of writing. But what's different about THESE edits is that they're on a hard deadline...one that's quickly approaching.

See, I'm a finalist for a writing contest with Children's Brains Are Yummy Books, an independent publisher of middle-grade and young adult novels based out of Austin, Texas! One of the major perks of being a finalist for this contest is that you get a line critique done by one of their editors. Then you have a few months - it was three and a half for me - to make the necessary changes before a portion of the book is posted online for wonderful folks like you all to vote on.

So what's it like editing with a deadline:

1) You're super excited at first because an editor has read your entire book and actually took the time to give you insight into what's good and not so good about it.

2) You dive into the editorial letter and notes, and see how the changes make your story really take on a polished and professional feel. In the process, you realize that not only is your story getting better, but your abilities as a writer are improving as well.

3) After weeks of going through your chapters, your editing engine slows down as you realize that going through 250 pages of line edits can be more than a bit grueling.

4) In an effort to maintain your sanity, you take some time to do other things you love to decompress, like reading a steamy romance for fun, because your eyes begin to bleed from even the thought of looking at your story.

5) You stay focused and push through - even though there are times when you don't want to - because you can see that you're story is getting better and better.

6) You have more than a few moments of yelling, "My writing sucks!"

7) After much pain and with an exhausted brain, you end up with a wonderfully polished story that you hope your editor will love as well.

8) You get more edits and start all over again!

Now, I'm assuming this is the case for number 8...since I haven't gotten to this part yet. I'm sending my first round of edited material over at the end of this week.

All in all, editing with an industry professional is an exhilarating and humbling experience that I hope to get to repeat for many years to come!

Happy Writing!!!