Day 28 Notes

Day 28 (Friday, June 21) was the day when I got to the end of the book that I was editing, which was book 1. On Day 28 I finished another pass of book 1. Whenever I get to the end of a book, I usually try to celebrate a little and take a photo. In this self-portrait, I'm holding my laptop in the photo because that's where the book is. Book 1 isn't quite ready for publishing, but it's closer than ever. I feel very good about this draft. I still have to do some proofreading, but that's not a big deal. The hard part is done. The book has been written and edited and now it's almost ready. With some final proofreading, and some final editing, it'll be ready for publishing.

In this photo, you can see my writing room. You can see my laptop (I keep that book underneath--it serves as a steady platform no matter where I'm writing). You can also see my headphones, which I often wear when I'm writing. Sometimes I play music, but most of the time I use them to block sound. I'll wear earplugs too (both earplugs and headphones) when I really want to focus.

I remember this day quite well. I remember editing the last pages of this draft. I remember sweating and feeling excited. The end of a book is an exciting time, for both the reader and the writer. There's this end-of-the-book mentality that kicks in. Yon can see how many pages are left. You get excited. You read a little faster. I know I was editing faster that I usually do. Then comes the last sentence. I actually tweaked the last sentence a little. It's all for the book. I've heard people say: "The book becomes the boss." And in some ways that's really true. You do what you gotta do. You keep working. And then one day you get to the end, and you pause and reflect, and it feels pretty good.