You think the more you do something, the better you get at it. On average, my books have at least 13 revisions (many of them many more). Since I’ve written, edited, and revised so many in the last few years, you’d think revision came naturally to me. Sadly this is not the case.

Yesterday afternoon I tried to squeeze in a bit of time in between after toddler’s swim class and before exhibit opening to add a few missing pieces to the next in line for paperback release, The Dohmestics. They say you should never go to the grocery store hungry.

Don’t revise with jet lag either.

I got into the manuscript, started tweaking and realized the shifts I needed to make were of a much larger scale than I would have otherwise anticipated.

Later in the evening, when the house was asleep, I opened another manuscript, The Opposite of Hate, which is next in line for digital release. There were several pages of notes from the developmental editor as well as 200+ comments. A few characters needed tweaking; a major theme or three needed sharpening.

Not any easier.

I’m eating lunch  now, contemplating a foot massage, to avoid tackling either of these projects with a (self-imposed) June release date.

How do you stay motivated with a task? Whether running a marathon or editing a book, diligence is of essence.