Curing The “I’ve Read My Manuscript Too Many Times” Blues

March 20, 2016 by David T. Allen

We’ve been editing and re-reading our manuscript for days now. Leslie is a machine; she can pour over the same words all day, every day, and make significant improvements. I, however, am weak. I’ve had a hard time contributing lately because all I see are negatives. But, this morning, I found a way to cure it.

Stuck with the sniffles and the I’ve-read-our-manuscript-too-many-times blues, I went to Amazon to read samples from books that I know were commercially successful. Sure enough, I found fault with every sentence.

Realizing my frustrations were due to a weird mood and not something inherently wrong with every word we’d written, I was able to read our manuscript with a kinder eye (and enjoy it!)

Echo Chamber Heist: Full Manuscript Read Through
Last month, I put Echo Chamber Heist away for a few weeks so I could re-read it with fresh eyes. I didn’t get the whole way through, as holidays, work, a two-week uber cold, and a trip to Japan halted my progress. Still, I read a fair amount, and now can work through the most important edits with Leslie.

Sprint 16: Beta Reader Feedback, Mexico, and Pinball
March was a whirlwind. It started with a well-timed trip to Mexico, followed by implementing feedback from nine beta readers, gardening, jury duty, releasing our short story in the Steampunk Fairy Tales collection, and lots of pinball.

Coauthor Chapter Editing Board
Before our trip to Japan, I had read most of Echo Chamber Heist on my Nook and took notes. When we returned, I wasn’t sure where we had left off. I knew Leslie and I would be passing chapters back-and-forth and out-of-order at this stage of editing, so I built a board to help manage who currently “owns” a chapter.

Comet, the Neighborhood Pig
I was drafting our Sprint 5 article and realized I had a lot to say about the things we did in April. One of our goals is to have more fun, but I didn’t want to overwhelm that article with pictures. In this article, Leslie bought me the greatest shirt ever made and we met the neighborhood pig.

#writing