Have you ever had one of those perfect moments? You think, “Nothing could beat this…I wouldn’t change a thing.” Then a little time goes by and you glance at the photos from that perfect moment to realize the black eyeliner you thought was stylish actually made you look like a rabid raccoon. Or the over-sprayed hair that could withstand the gale force winds of a hurricane reminds you of a giant space helmet on your head.
Fashion is a fickle friend.
But I’m not talking about fashion (I don’t even look at those old pictures of me if I can avoid it) I’m talking about words.
More specifically, I’m talking about my book, To Katie with Love.
The words I was married to, chained to like an activist to a tree, had to go. Not all of them…the story is amazing (if I do say so myself) but the story can easily be hidden by the over-use of words…sort of like the beauty hiding under a layer of black eyeliner and hairspray. So I’m taking Katie back to her natural state, stripping away some of the make-up that takes away from her beauty.
And trust me when I say, don’t let anyone convince you to write a book without a good editor. You will never be willing to part with the things you really don’t need without someone holding your hand along the way…or rather dragging you by the hand along the way. I have to give a HUGE thanks to Laura Kolar and Kelly Gamble for working with me on this project. They are the two best editors I’ve ever worked with, and without their advice (often delivered like the blow of a sledge hammer upside my hard as cement head) Katie would continue to struggle under the weight of unnecessary words.
And don’t ever let anyone tell you the creative process is a simple one. Oh, it’s worth every drop of blood, sweat, or tears along the way…but it’s not easy.
But neither is anything worth going after.
Until the next time…I’ll be editing!