Hello people, just me swinging in to remind you,that I’m still here, much to everyone’s chagrin, and my own surprise. And since I’m here, I’d like to share with you a little slice of comedy that is the chocolate pie of my life. As you may know, I’ve recently been granted a stay of execution from the monotony of being an unpublished writer, and have signed with Fantasy Works Publishing for my book series, Soul Broker. Naturally, I was excited by this news, and have been doing a happy jig ever since—which makes walking to work a little awkward, but I don’t care. It’s only been a month, and already, I’ve been given my first set of edits for the my upcoming book, Soulless. While I’m still doing a jig with every step I take, that jig is now clumsy and lethargic, and full of more face-plants than I have words in my novel.

Why, you might ask? Well, you might as well ask because I’m going to tell you. Because after having read and reread my manuscript, having someone beta-read it, and then converting it to an audio file so I could listen to it, I apparently left a graveyard full of debris in my story that my poor editors must now comb through and point out to me. I’m sure this makes them feel like third grade teachers pointing out when to use ‘affect’ and ‘effect,’ to children, but there’s little I can do about it now. I would say that this dose of reality has been a humbling experience, but I have had years of rejection letters to humble me good and proper. Still, I was surprised, and somewhat amused, because even at my age, I am still learning about the trade.

Well, it doesn’t help that the acceptable rules keep changing. One of the biggest changes I found out about was that it is no longer proper to double space in between sentences. When I saw that I instantly felt like an old man on a rocking chair, belligerently shaking a fist at a group of literary teenagers, shouting, “When I was your age, punctuation marks and capital letters stayed two spaces apart! Show some respect for your serif! You’re practically dry-humping your words together!”

So, needless to say, it’s been a rough but education week of editing. The downside of which is, I find it difficult to work on any other projects because I’m almost always working on edits. And that’s just one fourth of the edits. I have lots more to go, and when I’m done with that round, they’ll be another round waiting in the wings like an overzealous ballerina chomping at the bit for her cue to come so she can make her grand entrance.

But you shouldn’t write if you’re not ready to rewrite. It’s a fundamental truth about this craft that you have to learn to swallow your pride and take criticism. Other people’s opinions of your work help to show you what parts of your narrative convey the proper message, and what parts don’t. So, I will read my edits, take stock of my manuscript, and do my best to make the best product I can. And along the way, I’ll try not to smash my head into a wall while I partake in this educational experience.