Revision #1 is done! I finished late Friday night and let me tell you, they should bottle up how I was feeling and sell it in bulk. Holy crap, did I feel amazing. It was relief and pride and awesomeness and sheer joy all rolled into one. I pretty much felt like this:
And let’s be honest. It was fantastic to feel that way, because for most of the revision process, I was more like this:
But enough with the Anchorman references. Revision #1 is done!!! Hooray! Two months ago, Editor Erica, sent me a wonderfully challenging letter full of things to pull apart and rework. Now LAICOS is back in her hands, and I’m sure she will re-read it in just a fraction of the time it took me to address all her brilliant comments.
I’m really, really thrilled with how this revision came out. I know we are far from done – who even knows how many rounds I have left – but man, this made me fall in love with my book all over again. LAICOS is stronger because of these changes, so much stronger. The world is more realized, the plot tighter. I can’t wait to see where we go from here.
In the meantime, I’m excited to take a mini break as my editor reads things over. This was my first time working on deadline. For the most part I didn’t have any major issues, but I did have to shuffle a few things around unexpectedly. The Engineer and I have also had a ton of weddings to travel to this summer, so certain tasks got pushed off entirely. Cleaning the house, for instance. Staying on top of laundry. Doing OTHER creative things.
This has been the biggest struggle for me. Before my book deal or my agent, when I was writing just for me, I could fit it in whenever I wanted. With this revision, there were times where I was writing for four days straight. I already work Mondays – Wednesdays, so during these marathon sessions, my life consisted solely of the day job and writing. And I love writing. But I really, really believe that additional activities (reading, hiking, baking, seeing a movie, playing some music, etc) are pivotal to keeping the well of creativity full. So, yeah. I can’t wait to dabble in some other creative outlets over the next few days. I especially need to read for my wonderful critique partner, April, who has been sooo incredibly patient while I revised. (Thank you, April! Thank you!)
I’m hoping to squeeze in a bit more blogging, too. How I missed you, blog followers! I have a few ARCs sitting on my shelf that I’ve read. Perhaps I’ll throw a little giveaway. Or maybe I’ll answer some questions. Anyone wondering about the revision process or working on a deadline or writing in general? Leave questions in the comments and I’ll try to answer some in another blog post.
And lastly, because I’ve been wondering… How do you feel about revisions? I find them incredibly rewarding…When they’re done. Everything leading up to that mostly feels like pulling teeth and nonstop wrestling. So tell me, do you like revising? Hate it? Would you rather be drafting? Outlining? Writing a – gasp – synopsis? *shudders* (Even I wouldn’t want to do that.) Anyway, let me know in the comments. I would love to hear your thoughts!
