Edit This, Part 2

I finished the first round of edits on FINAL VECTOR today and am preparing to send the revised manuscript off to my editor with a mixture of excitement and nervous wonder.

I'm excited because, first of all, I seem to have managed to work in the redlined manuscript and make changes to it without somehow striking the wrong key and sending the entire book into the electronic netherworld. Dealing with editorial changes in the Word format was something I had never done before and I had visions of some epic disaster befalling the book thanks to my ignorance.

It looks as though I more or less avoided that fate.

I'm also excited because, as a debut novelist, I've never before worked with a professional editor. To say Lorie Popp at Medallion is a miracle worker would be a massive understatement. Already, after this one round of edits, the book is tighter and more exciting, with the suspense building steadily toward the conclusion. She has shown patience and encouragement while still ruthlessly slashing repetitive and unnecessary passages. The result is stunning.

I'm nervous because I don't know what to expect next. Presumably another round of edits will follow, with Ms Popp examining the new, revised manuscript and likely suggesting more changes. My assumption is that most of the major issues have been addressed, but having never done this before, I really don't know.

My worry about meeting the June 30 deadline to return the manuscript to Medallion turned out to be pretty much groundless. I suspended work on my new novel for a couple of weeks to devote as much time as possible to these editorial changes and ended up finishing with a couple of days to spare.

So now, after I hit "send" on the email returning the package to Medallion, I will resume work on the new book, wondering how long it will take before I hear something back regarding the changes. Probably it will take a while, which will be difficult because I have to admit to a certain curiosity about what my editor will think about the rewrites.

The process of preparing a novel for publication is a long one, with a lot of downtime. But it's also very exciting, especially when you see your vision shaping up and turning into something of which you can be excited and proud. I'm curious to see what happens next.