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Well, I survived.
My first contracted book is back in the hands of my editor. It’s difficult to put into words the emotions I experienced during this first round of revisions.
I worked primarily on the weekend, some days ten hours straight. I had a few major meltdowns. The first came when I had to move a major scene, which originally occurred later in the book, to Chapter 2. This created a domino effect resulting in a lot of rewriting. Then I had to delete my ending to make everything flow. That was my second major meltdown.
One thing I learned, writing under contract, after you’ve received an advance, is an entirely different animal. Although I enjoyed the process, my stress level magnified and fear took hold. I wanted perfection, though I knew that wasn’t possible. I wanted to know why someone would pay me to write, after all, this is the first book I’ve written. I wanted to know how I got from a fifty-word blurb, to this.
In the end, I had to push aside the questions and the self-doubt, in order to move forward. Would I do it again? You bet I would.
Of course, I never would have hit submit, if it weren’t for the support and encouragement I received from Derek, my family, friends and fellow bloggers.
What do you fear?
Jill Weatherholt 