Writing means edits. Editing is writing. Slash those words. Kill your darlings*. Cut and add and fix and all that jazz.

I don’t mind editing. Actually, I like reading the ideas my editor has for my novels**.

When something structural needs to be fixed, I’ll do it. Go through and change up verb tense? I’m on it. Add a little to intensify a scene. Awesome.

But…oh, the embarrassment. The trauma. The…the…the…

TYPOS.

They can be sprinkled throughout a manuscript, hiding among sentences. They’re the little comma that snuck in somehow. Or the the the repeated word. “She took a step toward the steps”. UGH!

Nothing will bring the lofty mind of a writer back to earth like a manuscript, rife with typos.

When I need a little humbling, I think of all the tipos tIepoes typos that I consistently need to weed.

*”Kill your darlings” is an expression in the publishing biz. It basically means, no matter how much you love that scene/character/word, if it doesn’t fit, cut it. Happy. Huh?

**If you ever happen to need an editor for hire, Dina Sleiman is a great one. Her rates are miles below many others, but she is a quality, knowledgable editor. Click HERE for more information.

What about you? What keeps you humble?