Today I’m trying to work with this gorgeous view in front of me. It’s a beautiful day in the Outer Banks neighborhood.
Yesterday I wrote over twenty blog posts to coincide with the publication of my fourth book. Today I’m focusing on edits of that manuscript. I just read some edit suggestions. Finally. I’ve been dreading reading them for a while. Who wants to hear what’s wrong with your baby?
They weren’t that bad actually. Some of the comments were valid. A few made me wonder, “Did you read the manuscript?” Once or twice the editor suggested, “It’d be neat if…”, to which I thought, “not really.”
I have to remember that editors are human and except for grammar and punctuation rules, many comments are subjective. What works for one editor may not for a different one. My editor even wrote, “These comments are my opinion. Another editor may not agree,” at the end of her statements.
Before I read the comments, I invoked Isaiah 41:13, “For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, ‘Do not fear; I will help you.'” I also prayed for protection against my own negative thoughts and being crushed by negative statements. I prayed to consider valid points and dismiss ones that didn’t fit.
Then I read the statements typed in red…and survived.
Fortified with prayer, I’ll contemplate a few points she made and address them in my manuscript, especially the beginning scene. Her comments confirmed my own suspicions about my starting place.
Today I’m thankful for the power of prayer, My God who takes my right hand to help me, and editors who help make my writing stronger.
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