FROM THE WRITER'S DESK

I reached a milestone on Thursday when I put the first draft of the book in the hands of my publisher!! Whew! I think the hardest part is over -- grinding out page after page to make a coherent finished product -- at any rate I have a break for a month or two, while the publisher and the peer reviewers are reading it. They are supposed to read it with an expert eye to make suggestions about how it could best become a marketable book (and yes, there is a difference between what a writer wants to say and what readers want to know)

While they do the work I get to sit back and relax for a while. Then the next step begins, turning from a first draft to a finished product. And that requires a lot of detailed examination, because every extra comma or extra space could come out in the final product if I'm not careful.


Am so glad to be rid of it for a while !! I hope I don't "disown" it when it comes back to me. It is a little like having a child.