Edits!

I received my edits yesterday which provided a flurry of excitment, causing me to hand out the wrong cell phone number to Medallion's author liason, Kerry. Thank goodness she's used to crazy writers and was able to look up the correct number. In addition to that, my brain shut down, and I confused the meaning of anagram and acronym. Yes, please join me in yelling idiot.

The edits were relatively painless and the manuscript scattered with positive comments. I suppose that's to help prevent the I suck syndrome. I'll share what I learned. My characters are stuck in perpetual "Joker" mode because they grin so damn much. Easy fix. I have inflamed Mr. Webster with my lack of farther/further differential knowledge. Note to self to blow up page 46 of The Elements of Style. Oh yes, and sometimes I became so engrossed with the story that I forgot to clearly indicate who was speaking. Hey, wait a minute, that's one of my pet peeves. How dare I commit the same atrocity in my own work?

Anyway, that was my editing experience. The most difficult debate was a polite suggestion that I redefine the ZEBRA acronym. I did lose some sleep over this. Thanks to my Medallion author group for helping me with that one. I settled on Zoological Environmental Bio Research Agency.

I did take my time and re-read the manuscript as I went through the editing process. I will now go and drink heavily and congratulate myself on not submitting to the desire to rewrite the entire book because I suck.

I have duly noted how far down to start the chapter headings, to use . . . instead of ... and a few other specifics that Medallion prefers. Angel Falls will hopefully be less of a chore for my editors -- who by the way, are awesome. Here's a shout-out to Emily Steele and Janet Bank. Thank you so much for all your hard work and for taking such good care of my first book.