My own worst enemy.

I finished my proof read of The Gifted last night.

I was pleasantly surprised. Deep inside I was afraid that it was going to be terrible and I'd have to retract all the hard work I've done to market my book. I was breaking out in a cold sweat just thinking about what I was going to tell people when they asked why they couldn't read my book.

"Sorry. It stinks." (Insert pathetic shrug here.)

But the good news is, it doesn't stink! :) I knew that, I just needed reassurance. 

I was also surprised at the number of edits I'm going to have to do. I went through last night and counted. Out of 256 pages, plus the dedication page, about the other page, and copyright page, so 259 total, there were 15 pages that did not have edits.

Very few of these were grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors. A few, but not many. Mostly it's just things like redundant word use or a description that doesn't really fit. At one point, I even made Mr. A stand up and attack me so I'd know how natural Pyper's reaction was.

It wasn't natural at all.

The thing that makes me laugh, though, is how hard I am on myself. If you flipped through my proof copy of The Gifted, you would see things like, "This is weak." Or "What? That makes no sense."

Mostly I say those things so I will know what a reader is thinking at that point. Yes, I have read a book before and thought, "What? That makes no sense." So I'm doing everything in my power to keep my readers from doing the same thing.

My husband says it probably doesn't matter how many times I edit and review my book, I'll never be completely satisfied. I think he's right. I just want it to be perfect. I'm doing all this for you. Pin It