Shoot me. Stuff me. Mount me.

Being an editor and an author is one bitch of a double-edged sword. On one hand, most of the time I am able to distance myself enough from my projects to give them a hard edit. On the other hand, it's difficult for me to stop editing. It's hard for me to not edit out my own voice in favor of something that might be a little less wordy, but likewise more lyrical. When I'm editing for someone else, they might agree with me but prefer to keep their wording intact because it sounds more like them. When I'm editing for myself, my creative side and my technical side are at constant war with each other.

So I'm stuck on this last read of Flip Side of Sin. I believe I've done everything right up till this point. It is my first Indie release; I completed it, sent it to beta readers, made suggested corrections, read it, sent it to the editor, made suggested corrections, read it, had my husband proofread (since he's good with typos and hadn't already read it), made suggested corrections, and am now reading it again.

The thing is, I'm never going to be satisfied. I could read this until I have each line memorized and still fret over a word I somehow managed to omit. Yet I know I'm also my own worst critic, and there will inevitably be awkward phrasing, missed typos, incorrect punctuation, and so forth. No book is perfect. No matter how many edits a manuscript endures, flaws will remain ignored, and not for lack of searching.

This read of Flip Side of Sin will be my last. I'm guessing the book formatter thinks I vanished or went with someone else. I should receive the cover sometime next month, and then all I have to do is prepare for release -- a different can of worms altogether. I'd prefer not to think of that for the moment...

In the meantime, between reading my own manuscript for errors, reading slush for my job, and editing those authors I already manage, I have zero time to write. Still, NaNoWriMo looms, and I intend to accept and meet the challenge.

Hopefully by the time you hear from me again, I'll have climbed free of my own edits of doom.