MRBP #9: One More Time

This was first pub­lished in April of 2014. You’ve read it often enough that it’s #9 on the count­down of Most Read Blog Posts. The irony of the title is not lost on me.

My edi­tor writes to me, “I think the man­u­script is in fan­tas­tic shape. I’m so pleased with the changes you’ve made, and at this point, I have very few com­ments left…. [It’s] near­ly there, with very lit­tle left to address.”

That’s my cue. So, after some­thing like two years, I work through this man­u­script yet again for the—what?—two thou­sandth (or more) time. With a com­plex mix­ture of relief, ela­tion, and despair, I find many things that I can make, need to make, bet­ter. There is relief that I find these things and can make adjust­ments. Ela­tion that I can do some­thing that will makes things bet­ter. Despair that I find these things at all.

I go through all my tricks: change of font, change of mar­gins, changes in font size, change in back­ground col­or, read­ing on the screen, read­ing on paper, read­ing out loud, read­ing to some­one, but I still find these things. They are like lumps of coal work­ing their way to the surface.

And always, always, the nag­ging wor­ry: have I caught every­thing? Do I need to go through it one more time?

Have I caught every­thing? Of course I have not. Do I have to go through it one more time?

Of course I do.