Rewrite. It’s an ugly, ugly word. Anyone who’s been in grad school or part of the journalism industrial complex knows the power of that word to strike fear into the heart. Rewrite. Then rewrite again. And again. A guy who went to grad school with me … hold on, Googling … this guy, Joe Camhi, wrote a horror poem, in the style of The Raven, in which a grad student’s dissertation adviser sent the student back for rewrite “ever more!”
So you’ll understand my elation when I got the following email from my editor at Kensington Books.
All of the revisions are great, and everything works and looks smooth to me. If not, the copyeditor will catch it. So I’m putting through for the acceptance payment, and the next step will be copyedits in a couple months.
Woohoo. I’m done with The First Annual Grand Prairie Rabbit Festival. Well, except for battling with the copy editors (I was once a copy editor, though you wouldn’t know it by my typos). And picking the cover. And the author’s photo. And trying to drum up sales. And worrying that no one will review it. Then worrying that the people who review it are going to hate it. Then worrying no one will buy it.
But other than that, I’m done with the writing bit! And I’m getting paid again.
Though that little bit of money isn’t going to make up for the 10% cut in salary we took at the day job yesterday. Ah, well. such is life.
Now, back to the next book. I’m halfway done with that first draft. Sweet.
KEN WHEATON 
Congratulations! I, too, HATE HATE HATE rewrites. So painful. Glad to hear things are moving along.
Kristin
Cover art should be St.Peter’s church in Grand Prairie with a cage of rabbits right under the cross with St.Peter . Or maybe a picture of a guy holding a rabbit by it’s back legs, about to wack it in the head to kill it for the rabbit gumbo. I could go on all day, but will not.
Bobby,
They don’t want any religious imagery at all on the cover–in particular any religious imagery involving upside down crosses that might be interpreted the wrong way.
Now someone murdering a rabbit … that might work.
Wow, Thanks for making me both glad that I am now wiping shit off of a baby’s ass and not having to rewrite anything and reminding me of Joe Camhi. That guy makes me smile.
Oh, and congratulations, too, by the way! Send Tinkerbell with her writing pixie dust this way, please.
Wow. It warms my heart to know that somewhere a woman whipping shit off a baby can think of me and smile! 😉
Amy, thanks for the compliment. If that is your child, congratulations.
Ken, congratulations on your marriage and your novel. Let me know when the novel comes out, so I can buy a copy.
How are you two?
By the way, if anyone finds themselves in California next November and December there will be a production of my play Wacademia in small theater in West Hollywood.