Rewrites and Proofreading

I just received the edits from my editor for my next book, Simply Beautiful: Making Your Life Reflect Your Values, which is due to come out in January 2026. I have ten days to do my rewrites and get it back to the publisher. 

I enjoy this stage of the process. The hard labour is done, the bulk of the work is finished, and now it's just polishing and finessing and catching mistakes. I set up the laptop with the version that shows her edits and use the desktop computer to do my changes on the final version (less eye strain!). It allows me to go back and forth between manuscript versions without confusing myself as to which one I'm in at that moment.

This is also what I would call the "powerful" stage. Earlier writing can be beset with imposter syndrome and self-doubt, but once the manuscript has been accepted and gone through someone else's rewrites, it feels...valid, maybe? As if it has passed the first test and now I can move forward with confidence. This is my thirteenth book, so you'd think self-confidence wouldn't be a problem by now, but it is, every time. I once read a post by Louise Penny, where she'd just sent in a manuscript and immediately felt the same kind of fear and trembling I always feel when I send something off, and I remember thinking, "My word, if she feels like that, then it's completely normal! It's not just me!"

I have only ten days to get this finished and return it to my editor, so I'll dive in full of energy and dedication. I'll hole up with my computers, forgetting to eat, ignoring the other people in the house, and immerse myself in words. I'll emerge days from now, wild-haired and gasping for air and wondering what year it is. I'll email it to my editor and promptly forget everything about it. And then I'll reward myself with Chapmans ice cream. It's my process.