Please don’t sacrifice me to the writing gods…

You’ve written your book.  The masterpiece has been marinating in a drawer (or buried on a hard drive) for weeks.  Somehow, you managed to not tear into it early, despite it whispering into your ear at night.  Let’s face it, you both needed some time and space from one another.  Good job.  The time has come though.  You unlock the drawer or double click that icon and staring you in the face is months worth (maybe more) of neatly typed words. The manuscript gazes back at you with worried eyes.  It knows.  You are about to tear it to pieces.  The question is; will you tear yourself to pieces in the process?

Many people think writing a book is the hardest thing you can do.  Then an editor comes along and breaks your heart.  As an editor, telling a writer…