Breathing Easier

My four mainstream novels have been edited by three different people. The first two were edited by my longtime editor, Karen Thomas. After she left Kensington, they eventually hired another editor, and while she tried to work her way through all those manuscripts that had piled up, management assigned my third manuscript to a freelancer. Monica Harris was a dream to work with, and I hope to work with her again one day, but I knew it was just temporary.

I have now been assigned a new, and hopefully permanent, editor. Getting a new editor is like getting a new manager at work. You don't have any idea of work habits (although I have yet to see an editor who is on schedule) or preferences. Most important of all, you don't know how they'll feel about your work, since they're not the one who bought it.

Imagine, then, my anxiety level as I waited for my newest editor to read my manuscript for Once Upon A Project. We'd spoken about the plotline, and I've seen cover art, and she displayed bubbly enthusiasm throughout. But what if she didn't like the actual product? I still have another book to go on my contract.

When she e-mailed to say she was reading it, the lip-chewing started. Then, another e-mail. It was a very clean manuscript, and she only had a few minor suggestions. When I called to clarify something she asked for, we spoke about the project some more. Not only did she feel that my 117,000-word monstrosity wasn't too long, but she complimented me on how easily identifiable each of the four main characters was. She recognized who was narrating the they appeared, largely because of my use of internal character thoughts to give them distinct voices.

Needless to say, I'm still grinning. I always felt this manuscript was special. What a relief to know that my editor thinks so, too . . . and just in time for vacation.

Yes, it's vacation time again. I'll be spending the next four days in Colorado. If anybody out there is in downtown Denver, stop by the Barnes & Noble on 16th Street Friday, September 28th, around lunchtime. I'll be stopping in to sign store stock of three of my titles, and I'd love to meet you.

I'll work on my revisions on the plane. And I'm breathing a lot easier. Let's hope that the Mile-High altitude I'm flying into (with surrounding suburbs as high as 7,500 feet) doesn't leave me gasping.

Have a great weekend, and look for my interview with Gwyneth Bolton on her blog (www.gwynethbolton.blogspot.com) on Monday, October 1st.