Revision begins!

Today marks the first day I’ve sat down to work on revisions to the sequel to Adaptation. Just like when I was writing the rough draft, I’ll post on Tumblr every day I work on the revision, as part of my plan to document how long it takes me to write this book.

So, today: Revision Day 1! What did I do? I sat down and read my editor’s editorial letter. Typically the first time I read an editorial letter, I feel like this:

So I have a process. Today I meditated before I sat down to read the letter, in order to open my mind to the letter. This might sound weird, but I’ve noticed that (like many people, probably) I often approach criticism defensively. An editorial letter is totally helpful and absolutely vital, but it is also criticism. In order to fully understand what my editor is saying, I have to at least be open to hearing it. So, I meditated first.

Then I read the letter once through quickly, letting myself have whatever knee-jerk reactions I might have. After that I read through it again more carefully, this time highlighting portions that I thought were especially important. Then I wrote in my writing journal about my thoughts about the letter. This whole process took about an hour. 

That’s all I did today, because I also know that I need to let the letter sink in, and allow my editor’s comments to perk around in my subconscious for a while. Because of my travel schedule over the next two weeks, I know I won’t be able to dive into revision right away. But at least now I’ll be working on it subconsciously!