I did want to post today, because I might be a little scarce for the next week or so. Work is, again, bordering on high-stress levels, and I received first round edits for the upcoming release far sooner than I expected. But I’m so glad to see them, I have no complaints, lol.
First round edits are different than all the others. Usually, the manuscript has been waiting for approval, and it’s been a while since you read it through, so there’s that unvarnished set of eyes to run over it.
If you’re anything like me, this round has you alternating between dismay at some of the silly mistakes that should’ve seemed so OBVIOUS when you were finalizing—and an occasional bit of awe when you encounter something really good, something you may not even REMEMBER writing, that makes you think “wow…”
When first round edits hit, you’re excited. The dream you had for bringing that book to publishing life is really coming true! You don’t mind reading it over until your vision blurs. It’s okay if you need to delete half a million commas, one by one, to be sure you get it right. Yes, you CAN come up with a description for those blue eyes that isn’t so cliche. And no, it’s no problem at all for you to go searching eight or nine chapters back to see why your protagonist described something in a very distinctive way, and to try to remember what the hell it was you had in mind eighteen months earlier when you wrote it just as you were falling asleep. O_o
It’s all good. It’s one huge step toward that dream you dreamed becoming real.
Of course, by the second round of edits, the bloom on that rose usually fades substantially. But maybe I’ll touch on that next time. 
