I love when I get to the editing phase of my books. It means I’m in the home stretch, and it also means that if someone forced me to turn my book in at this second, it wouldn’t be the worst thing. That is to say, it at least resembles a book. But editing is also when it gets good. Plus it’s when I get to use fun office supplies, which I always enjoy.
With my book about Sex and the City, I’m currently in the phase of the editing phase when I print out the whole thing and read it outside of my home: in cafes and parks and such. My favorite editing guide, The Artful Edit, recommends several ways to see your manuscript with new eyes. One way is printing it out, another is switching fonts, and a third is reading in a different location from where you wrote the book. With this current step I’m doing all three at once.
It is not unpleasant, as you can see from this photo. I’m pretty sure this is when I found the thematically perfect way to edit a book about Sex and the City: with a hot pink pen while drinking red wine in a New York City bar.