And eureka!

I have managed to post 54,900 words to the NaNo word counting widget, and that means as of November 20th, I have completed NaNo for the fifth year in a row. So, yay, me! I'll pat myself on the back and crow a bit. At least until I go back and read the results of the frenzied output, which is when I'll open a bottle of wine and whimper while I read.

I've also gone through the first round of comments from my editor, and while it was a lot of work, it was also truly exciting. I'm well past the stage of feeling like every comment is a personal criticism. Instead, I view the comments as a chance to see my story from a fresh viewpoint. I wrote it, and edited it, and tweaked it some more. I know what I think I'm saying, but I need that new pair of eyes to tell me if I was making sense. That's the whole point, isn't it?

Schedules being what they are, ten days is not a lot of time to process a first round of edits, but I think the intense focus was helpful. I couldn't get away with putting the manuscript aside for a few days, or I'd wind up rushing and making a complete mess of it. I needed to really immerse myself in the editing process, to the point where I was dreaming changes. It was engrossing, yes, but it was very productive and (I hope!) worthwhile.

There's more to do. There will be a second round of comments, and then the proofreader will go through the manuscript. I'll look at that set of comments, and finally, we'll send my baby off to production. I get one more look, when the galley is ready, and then that's it. I'll have a book!