...with a sigh of relief

A  rite of passage for me as a writer is reading my copy-edited ms (manuscript). After I finish the final draft, my editor sends the ms to a copy editor. She reads it, making notes with a red pencil, calling out typos, checking timelines and consistency, fixing errors in punctuation, etc. I've had a book that didn't get a decent copy editing job, which was frustrating, but I felt like this one was great. It's my job to go through the book, noting any of the copy editor's queries and making sure I'm okay with all of her suggested changes.

But the important/scary part for me is reading my own book and knowing that I can't make many changes. I can add a sentence or two, cut out a couple of paragraphs, change a few words, but for the most part, it's a done deal. What if I read it and am frustrated? What if I hate it? What will I do?

Last week I read the copy-edited ms of the actor and the housewife. And I loved it. I did. That's a huge relief. This is my new book for adults, release date June '09. The main character is a stay-at-home mother from Utah who meets her #1 favorite actor in the first chapter, and then tells the next 11 years of her life. I don't know if it's a comedy or drama or romance or what. But I'm very pleased with it. Ah, the anticipation! Will others like it too? Or will they egg my house or cut the brakes on my car?

I wrote about starting this book in this post (bullet #4). And followup with a mention in this post (point #4). 2 1/2 years later, it's going to the typesetter's. What a long strange trip it's been.