I'm not a patient person!

I want to be done with the new book, but I still have to clear final editor comments. In this same vein, I want it off my plate. Because I'm not a patient person. Because I'd already reviewed it and edited it, and even though I knew that one section didn't really work, I was tired of looking at it.

Deep breath.

A month later, I have fresh eyes and more patience. I took another look at everything and fixed that section that didn't work. Hopefully. And found some other spots that I'd thrown a band-aid on that didn't stick. In the end, they're easy fixes, but why can't I see all that on the first pass? Or the third pass? Often, those band-aids are on top of band-aids, so they stem the bleeding, but don't help the wounded part heal. To continue with that metaphor (cuz you all know how much I love an analogy), to prevent infection, you have to clean the wound, treat it and wrap it so it stops bleeding. Slapping that quick band-aid is just a quick fix.

Fresh eyes. Recovery time. Time away from the story. They are essential parts of editing. Generally, that time away is the time the editor is looking everything over, so when comments come back, everything I missed the first hundred times is crystal clear.

And so I wait. It's in my editor's hands now (the "healed" version). Here's hoping I fixed all those rough spots and her comments are few. Fingers crossed.