All Over The Place

I have a story currently being given the serious treatment by an editor at a big name market.

I may have mentioned the story or market in past posts, I'm not sure, but I'll refrain from doing it here in case I jinx myself and everything falls over at the last hurdle.

Thing is, I have learned a great deal from this editor in less than a week. My story has had more red ink applied to it than all previous critiques put together. At one point I asked why they'd bothered accepting it if it was so bad? Probably not a good move on my part, but I judged my fledgling email relationship with this editor to have progressed far enough, and I'm nothing if not honest.

The response back was more than encouraging and a big lesson that good stories will only get better with an experienced editors help and guidance.

It's funny that I expected revisions and block changes to be made on a novel manuscript, and yet was surprised to see similar things, only on a smaller scale, at the short story level. I really am learning about the professional side of things on a steep learning curve at the moment. Reading about it is one thing - being involved as it happens is something else entirely.

Nothing has been set in stone, although the cement is drying fast, so although I've not been able to announce the acceptance within the 24 hour period, I'm hopeful to have an announcement of some kind before the weekend.

The result of all this back and forth revisions and the mounting excitement and nervousness over the story's prospects and final evolvement (my word), is I've done very little of anything else other than reading. My mind is so focused on this story, and everything I'm learning, I can't think of anything else. This editor is so nice, they've even taken the time to explain to me the difference between toward and towards! How cool is that?

FYI - if you're submitting to an American market - use toward, everywhere else, towards.

So if I've seemed a little less than myself recently, that's why.

And yes, if things do fall over at the last hurdle, I am going to be seriously crushed. I'll have a great story at the end of it all and have learned a lot, but I feel like I'm standing on a wobbly stool and playing out the rope over the beam above my head, while someone else ties the noose around my neck. Adrenaline plus, but not a particularly nice feeling.