Yes - revisions. I admit to being scared when I got my editorial notes on Prophecy. They looked incredibly intimidating. They reminded me of this:
I admit to leaving it on my desk and circling it warily for a week, too afraid to even touch it. Silly me. When I finally began to read through it, it really dawned on me why a good editor is so important to the publication of a book. Her comments, her questions, her notes were brilliant. She wasn't telling me how to rewrite my book, she was showing me how to make it stronger, tighter, better. Pacing, the bane of my existence, is now something I understand how to correct. I can see so much clearer now. I feel like dropping to my knees and bowing before her chanting "I'm not worthy."
Before I got my notes, I knew my editor was good because my agent told me she was good. But now I know just how brilliant she is from what is now going to be an amazing learning experience for me. And I'm ready. I'm excited. I'm also still scared cause the one thing it isn't going to be is easy. Everytime I see the word tighten scribbled on the side of a page, that's exactly what my chest does. When a word choice is questioned, I agonize over what would be a better one. The word "anachronistic" sends me into a panic. My mind is consumed by the revision process. And it is going to be great for my book. But that means I'm going to have to be more focused than before and make a sacrifice. As hard as it is, even at my now limited blogging level, I'm going to have to stop blogging for a little while. I hope that when I come back, I can share with you what I learned and how I've grown. So please don't forget me while I'm gone.
Like the Terminator, I'll be back.
