I love and hate editing

Its amazing to read work I’ve written

and then put aside.

I always see it in a new light

But I’ve been lucky so far-

I still like what I’ve written,

reading eagerly to see what I said

would happen next.

I finished the first round of edits tonight,

after a solid week where every spare moment

was spent reviewing book 5.

It’s hard,

finding the time to sit down and really concentrate,

at the cracks of the day,

correcting errors that half the time

I don’t realize I’ve made-

and that’s before another person goes through

and marks it up more.

But I think of it as building a house,

in a way.

First I lay the scaffolding,

building a frame

that is hopefully sturdy enough

to weather a storm.

Measure twice, cut once.

Then on to editors,

beta readers

and finally advance readers

who will *hopefully* leave a glowing review,

Painting the walls

in brilliant colors for the world to see.

And then the finished product,

with painted trim and a white picket fence,

begonias in the front.

And a rocking chair on the veranda,

for me to sit

and watch the sunset with friends.