Whew! What a blast that was. No, really, I've said before that going over your editor's edits for your novel is one of the best thrills in life. That is if your editor is an editor for the publisher who is going to publish your book. And in this case, it is.
But this time, it wasn't just one editor, it was at least two, and at least three editorial passes. And as a result, you can say that The Vase was put through the editorial "wringer." Boy was it ever. And I'm glad for that. I mean, if I want it to be considered a literary piece worth its salt, I do. And I do.
Virtually every detail worth mentioning in a literary sense was tackled. And I went with it. I didn't object to any of it. Sure there were a couple places where the editors weren't on the same page as me. A couple places where they misunderstood what I was doing, but that was smoothed over. And I didn't know that they were going to require a "source" for the historical figure I mentioned in the book.
That figure was the Roman Military commander in Israel early in the first century. In The Vase, I made that man Marcius Rufus. And the editors wanted the link to confirm that. Fortunately, I did my research, and I had the link. It was a website that had actual letters written by Pontius Pilate when he was on his way to assume the governorship of Israel. Traveling with him was Marcius Rufus, and Pilate made a reference to Rufus being his chief military officer.
So I'm good. But before I send this back, I want to at least review it again. Not read it through word by word, but review all my comments, and all the things I changed. Just because I've learned that that is the smart thing to do. I've learned many times not to be quick on the trigger. Wow, if nothing else, I've learned that. So maybe I'll email Penumbra and tell them I'm done, but that I'll be sending it tomorrow. That's the smart thing to do. And it's what I'll do.
No comments:
Post a Comment