It returned. As expected. My manuscript, that is. It wore a heavy coat of editorial comment, despite the hot autumn sun. Let me tell you, it takes nerves of steel to open these emails. Nerves of steel!

Just as bulbs return with beautiful blooms, after a season of rest, a manuscript returns with editorial comments, awaiting an author’s infusion of creativity and energy to bloom boldly!

Excitement courses through me. But it periodically smolders under a blanket of dread. And another blanket of fear. Nerves of steel, like I said. A writer MUST be brave to open this sort of email. There is no knowing what lies within.

Receiving professional editorial input is one of the most invigorating parts of writing, but a writer must be willing to overcome the fear of having someone else comment on words, ideas, story structure, plot choices, and anything else. I have found this input to be an amazing springboard for strengthening both my writing and my stories. I am grateful as all get-out that editors do the work they do. From putting an eye on everything from big picture to line details to word selection, an editor helps shape a book for the better.

Now that my manuscript has returned, I am back to work. It is my turn, again, to evaluate and amend. My turn to reconsider many things I had taken for granted in my story or characterizations. I am on it! I usually begin with a gentle read-through. Then, I ponder, considering different possibilities than I had considered only a few short weeks back. Then, I revise! It is not with any dread that this occurs, but rather with new-found life and energy. I grow, as a writer, once again.