Edit: Phase 2

I left off Phase 1 just as our developmental edit lands in our inbox. We’ve already cycled through the anticipation, the dread, the acceptance, all of which has come from our own minds. Now it’s real. Now it’s an email with attachments. Now it’s time to face the music.

We left off with “how bad can it be?” which, let’s be honest, is our brain’s way of buffering our nervous creative self with the worst-case scenario so we can (hopefully) be pleasantly surprised. This is a good time to remind ourselves that we paid for this edit because we want to make our books the best they can be. We invested in our project. We will not ignore the feedback given, because if we do that means we threw money away and I don’t know about you, but that’s not in my nature!

Phase two of an edit for me goes something like this:

Okay, that makes senseOoh! She liked that sentence!Huh. I thought I fixed my timeline issueOooh, that’s a good suggestionAnother timeline issue?I swear that sofa was blue in the last scene!Someone read my book!

Developmental edits are the shiniest of new objects in a writer’s toolbox. I want to immediately fix everything RIGHT. AWAY. But the twenty-four hours after getting an edit back are the most sensitive. I’ve found it’s best to read through all the comments first, then walking away before making a single change to avoid a) getting defensive b) making quickie, rash edits c) ignoring good feedback d) understanding the mountain of work that comes after finishing and revising and polishing a draft.

Give Phase 2 the space it requires. Let the feedback simmer in the back of your mind. Absorb the comments, good and bad, and recognize how lucky you are to have a roadmap forward. But don’t put off your revisions indefinitely. Phase 3 is when the magic happens.

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