It takes a village...

To write a book.

I realize this now more than ever, especially since .... I got my edits!! And I have pictures to prove it!!

The page on top is the cover letter. Yep, even editors use these, just like us when we're sending off our MS to agents. The bar above the ABRAMS logo is actually a lovely salmon color, but my color printer is short on ink so I printed it off on my black and white.

My full nine page edit letter and my writing cheerleaders standing by.
Left to right: Hoops, Piddles, Yoyo, and Guido

I used to think, hmmm. I'll write my story, polish it until it shimmers like a sea shell's pearly innards, then send it off and TA-DA! My book will sit upon the shelves of every book store available to mankind. HA

Now I know the truth. It takes so many people, so many reads, and so many revisions, to get that book ready to sell to the public. So, since I'm about to be up to my ears in editing (observe my scant blog post calendar to the right) this will be my Thanksgiving post--a few weeks early.

I'm so thankful to have a crit group (including my email entourage--you know who you are) who I can brainstorm with, an agent who has believed in me from the moment she read my first chapter, and an editor who GETS me, loves my book despite its weaknesses, and knows how to make it strong enough to face the world.

I can't be too specific about the edits without giving stuff away that should remain top secret (hee), but I think it's safe to post this paragraph from my editor's cover letter that sums up what I'll be working on over the next few weeks (my due date for the edits is December 12):

This letter covers a lot of ground, but two of the main areas are Alyssa’s emotional journey—adding some nuance and discovering moments of growth—and questions about the world politics of Wonderland. I try to think of editing as a conversation, so please don’t consider any of this to be strict orders—I ask these questions because I’ve noticed something as a reader and wanted to bring it to your attention. We can talk back and forth about what direction to take the story, which in the end is your own.

My favorite line is the last one. This lets me know that  I'm still the author and I get a say in my book's evolution. This line also makes me even more excited to work with Maggie, because I know she respects my opinion. It just so happens that I'm in love with almost every suggestion which follows that paragraph (because Maggie is a brilliant and intuitive reader/editor). So I guess the fact that we're sympatico makes us a match made in literary heaven.

♥˘⌣˘♥ *cues the singing angels* ♥˘⌣˘♥  

Of course, this is only the first round of edits, and I still have the line edits and copy edits looming. But it feels so good to know that each step will make my book that much shinier.

Here are two great posts which have helped me embrace my edits without fear, if any of you are curious / going through this phase of publishing:

How to respond to Manuscript Edits

What is the Editing Process Really Like?

As to how this affects my online playtime, I might be hit and miss on Twitter for awhile. Also, I won't be having a Query Tracker guest post this month. As fate would have it, the gal I scheduled is waiting for some REALLY big news to announce, so we're putting off her post until the holidays are over.

If I fail to visit your blogs for a few weeks, please know I haven't forgotten you. I'm just up to my eyeballs in rewrites. Have a great weekend, and see you all soon!