Editing ‘Like Bees to Honey’

Yesterday I received an email from Scott Pack, containing my edits for ‘Like Bees to Honey’.

I’d been expecting them, but still my stomach turned.  I’ve never worked this closely with Scott and having a new editor is a lot scary. What if I didn’t agree with his changes? What if his comments made me want to sulk or stamp my feet or both? What if his email was really just to say that he’d made a mistake and didn’t want to publish me? Honestly, I felt sick in my stomach.

I clicked open the attached file, took a deep breath and read his notes that were both general and specific. I think I must have been holding my breath because I let out a huge sigh, prompting G to ask what was up.

“Edits,” I said.

“OK?” G said.

“Very much so,” I said.

Because they were. I printed out the notes and found myself nodding. The comments were right and if I could manage the tweaks and changes, then it was clear that the book would be better. I felt excited, as in ‘little girl’ excited. Then Scott phoned to talk through it all and probably to make sure I knew not to rewrite the whole thing, just to tweak the parts indicated. I’m glad that he did.

That’s the thing with me and with most writers. Writing evolves and alters with each novel written. I finished ‘Bees’ over a year ago and my writing style has now changed. Novel 4 has paragraphs and correct grammar (I know, I know!), ‘Bees’ doesn’t always. So the main point of consideration is that during the edit I have to remember to keep ‘Bees’ true to the time that it was written (if that makes sense) otherwise it’ll end up a mish-mash of styles.

So now I’ve two weeks to complete these edit and then ‘Bees’ is booked in to be copyedited. The production process has officially started and some exciting decisions are being made. For me, the best part of production will be seeing the cover for the first time. I have absolutely no idea what to expect, but do know that some exciting options are being considered. It’s agreed that ‘Like Bees to Honey’ is my most commercial novel to date (it’s still a bit wonky, so don’t worry). The ideal readership would be located somewhere between ‘Lovely Bones’ and ‘The Time Traveller’s Wife’. Big books, big expectations, little me. I just really and truly hope that I can do what Scott needs me to do.

So, here I go. Wish me luck, please.

[note to reader: I found the rather beautiful photo here]