The idea of editing used to terrify me. I always imagined my novel would be sent to the editor and come back different–no doubt better–but changed in so many little ways that it wouldn’t truly be mine anymore. Having to rewrite never scared me, but having to cut ideas from the story also sounded dreadful.

The first edit of “The Cat in the Cradle” is only halfway through and already thousands of changes have been made and 20 pages cut. The truth is, I couldn’t be happier! When you hear about pages being trimmed from a novel, you imagine an entire chapter or a large chunk of story. In reality it’s only the occasional word here and there, sometimes a sentence, rarely a whole paragraph. These little changes tighten a sentence or communicate an idea more efficiently. They add up quickly and to everyone’s benefit. That’s 20 pages less that the reader needs to go through to get the exact same story. It’s great!

It may be different with other publishers, but with Swimming Kangaroo I get to see every little change that is made and decide if its for the best or not. If you’re curious to see just how that works, check out the video below!

Is “The Cat in the Cradle” still entirely mine? Not really, but this no longer threatens me. The editor I’m working with now, Linda Anderson, has decades more experience than I do at writing and editing. She has contributed a tremendous amount of her skill and talent to my story and I’m eternally grateful for it. Because of her efforts and the editing process, “The Cat in the Cradle” will be a much better novel than it would have otherwise. There was nothing to be scared of after all!