The Suffering Artist

Hey everybody!  Welcome back.  It's been a crazy week in terms of the book, and I can't wait to give you all an update about where we stand.

If you saw my post from last week in the News/Events section of the website, I received my revised manuscript from my editor at Invisible Ink Editing last weekend.  I immediately dove back into my novel to start re-writes and revisions.

The process has been, in a word, overwhelming.  There were lots of notes, suggestions, and questions.  A LOT!  I shared the editor's commentary with Vanessa and a couple of friends, and they all came back with the same question.  They asked if I was discouraged.  I'm pleased to report that I am not.  If anything, I feel reinvigorated to make my novel the best reading experience possible for my audience.

The hardest part has been listening to my own inner voice.  Some of the editor's suggestions I agreed with, and I made those changes right away.  Other times, I flat-out disagreed and those suggestions were easy to ignore.  But then there's a fuzzy gray area when the editor has raised an issue or question I've never fully considered.  What do I do with those?  Do I go back in and make changes, or do I trust my original instincts?

I remind myself that all the suggestions are merely that -- suggestions.  I tell myself that the foundation of the book is solid -- more than solid.  It's good, but I don't want to mess it up now.  So I've spent every night of the past week poring over the editor's notes and my manuscript.  It's getting to the point where I'm starting to see hobgoblins -- phantom missteps in style that I change only to "undo" seconds later.

Last night Vanessa called me a suffering artist -- probably because I've made her watch reruns of Downton Abbey by herself (My wife and I have very different definitions of "suffering"). But I know I'm close.  If I can hold out for one more week -- if I can resist the urge to rush through the process so I can finally say I'm done -- I think the end result will be something special.

Just one more week, and then big things are coming!

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