Editing my first book was a struggle. You get that joy of finishing a draft, and you want to coast on that high for a while. It feels great. After weeks, months, years, there is now a beginning, middle, and end to the book. You crafted the perfect character arcs, have the right balance of narrative vs. dialogue, and the pacing is perfect.

Then, you take a break from it. You let your mind wander and the euphoria fades. Perhaps you hand your manuscript to a writing group or a friend to read, knowing you handed them literary gold.

As the anxiety builds while you wait for them to read it, you decide to go back and re-read it.

Ruh-roh.

This character arc is less a smooth arc and more a jagged mess.

Oh no.

That description of the city, which was clear as day in your mind, came out flat and… well, to be honest, boring.

Thus begins the editing process. Taking that jagged arc and smoothing it out. Turning a description of a place from the literary equivalent of a pencil sketch to a painting full of colors and details. Moving a chapter near the end to near the beginning, only to realize that the ripple effects of moving it flow both forward and backward in the manuscript.

I’ll be honest: I struggled with it. I found it difficult to make changes. My motivation dwindled and I found it was much easier to distract myself.

But as they say: The best way to deal with a problem is to plow through it. So I did. I hunkered down and edited the manuscript. Day by day, I made small and big changes. I deleted paragraphs and chapters. Dialogue previously spoken by one character was given to another. Scenes were shortened, and other scenes were added.

In the end, I know it made the manuscript stronger. Characters have more depth; the scenery paints a vivid picture, and the overall story is… well, just better.

What have you struggled with that turned out to be worth it in the end? Let me know in the comments below.

If you are a writer, do you love editing? If so, let me know why so maybe I can learn to love it, too.