ADDICTED TO EDITING? IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE?
My husband thinks I'm addicted to editing. But what the hell does he know?
"Why else would you spend ten hours a day doing something?" he asked. "Either you really like it, or you're addicted."
"Look, just because you're a doctor, doesn't mean you know everything, buster. For your information, I don't like it. Well OK maybe I like it a little. But I need to do it. It needs to get done. Why's that so hard to understand?"
"It's not."
"See?"
"It's simple to understand. You're addicted."
I hate the fact that he may be right. As rare as that is, it annoys me that it ever happens at all. Maybe I should join EA - Editing Anonymous. They must have a one-step program in my neighborhood. I'd go, really, I would. But I don't have the time. I'm much too busy editing.
HOWEVER... I did manage to e-mail my partial to Agent B today, and I'm sending a revised partial in the mail tomorrow to Agent A (no relation to Agent 99, at least not that I know of). So, that felt good. See, I don't spend all my spare time editing. And now I'm busy going over the rest of the book looking for changes/additions/deletions that need to be made (not to be confused with editing). And I've started compiling a list of other agents to query.
As you can see, my husband is way off base. There are many other things I do during my waking hours besides editing. I e-mail agents, snail mail things to agents, blog, look for agents to query, read other people's blogs, read agents blogs, check to see if anyone's made a comment on my blog, check to see if someone I commented to on their blog has replied back to me on their blog, and submit to on-line writer's contests. So it's not like I'm only immersed in my editing.
Oh yeah, and I eat chocolate chip muffins, play with my cats, and make sure to get plenty of minerals and nutrients in the form of red wine on the weekends. So, as you can see, I live a fully rounded, well-balanced life.
Editing schmediting.
Kudos to my friend, Amy Nathan http://amysuenathan.com/. She finished the first draft of her novel today! Yay, Amy!
"Why else would you spend ten hours a day doing something?" he asked. "Either you really like it, or you're addicted."
"Look, just because you're a doctor, doesn't mean you know everything, buster. For your information, I don't like it. Well OK maybe I like it a little. But I need to do it. It needs to get done. Why's that so hard to understand?"
"It's not."
"See?"
"It's simple to understand. You're addicted."
I hate the fact that he may be right. As rare as that is, it annoys me that it ever happens at all. Maybe I should join EA - Editing Anonymous. They must have a one-step program in my neighborhood. I'd go, really, I would. But I don't have the time. I'm much too busy editing.
HOWEVER... I did manage to e-mail my partial to Agent B today, and I'm sending a revised partial in the mail tomorrow to Agent A (no relation to Agent 99, at least not that I know of). So, that felt good. See, I don't spend all my spare time editing. And now I'm busy going over the rest of the book looking for changes/additions/deletions that need to be made (not to be confused with editing). And I've started compiling a list of other agents to query.
As you can see, my husband is way off base. There are many other things I do during my waking hours besides editing. I e-mail agents, snail mail things to agents, blog, look for agents to query, read other people's blogs, read agents blogs, check to see if anyone's made a comment on my blog, check to see if someone I commented to on their blog has replied back to me on their blog, and submit to on-line writer's contests. So it's not like I'm only immersed in my editing.
Oh yeah, and I eat chocolate chip muffins, play with my cats, and make sure to get plenty of minerals and nutrients in the form of red wine on the weekends. So, as you can see, I live a fully rounded, well-balanced life.
Editing schmediting.
Kudos to my friend, Amy Nathan http://amysuenathan.com/. She finished the first draft of her novel today! Yay, Amy!
10 comments:
Oh, for our sakes, I hope your hubby is wrong! So excited for you with all the sending-to-agents stuff going on!! Woohoo!
Is there anything better than a fun, passionate addiction? Enjoy! Lots of great things going on here, keeping my fingers crossed for you.
You made me laugh out loud! Yep, I LOL'ed for real. I can soooo relate!
Angie, Don't worry. He's probably wrong. After all, he is a guy.
Joanne, No there's not. Chocolate, wine, editing. I could have worse troubles.
Amy, I'm glad I made you laugh. After all, that's always my ultimate goal. BTW: Did you see my kudos to you at the end?
Ah, but do you dress up as one of the Robert Palmer irls while you are editing?
Now that would just be weird.
Wendy, Hmmm. Interesting concept. I'll have to rummage through my 1980's closet and see what I can come up with. After all, I'm not above anything if it forwards the noble cause of good writing.
I hope this is not a stupid question. But how did you manage to get and agent A AND and agent B with an unfinished book?????
Please tell me the magic.
Technically, the book is done. However, until you go to press is a book ever really done? As I say in my post, I'm addicted to editing. I'm always trying to make it better, trying to glean one more clever piece of dialogue or snip out unnecessary words. I guess my query got their attention. In the meantime, I just keep on editing... (Does this help?)
Editing is stinky and un-fun.
I'll permit you to like it, but you shall never convince otherwise.
Aw, come on Ray. Editing is just another opportunity to write! Now, turn that frown upside down and kill a whole buncha babies.
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