Is this a low point of the writing process?

Reality check: I'm sure it won't be the last one.

So... I have a book deal!!!!!

Here’s what I say when people ask me how things are going with my book:
”Oh, you know! Still editing away! It’s a long haul!”

Here’s what I want to say when people ask me how things are going with my book:
”I don’t mind editing but wow does this feel like a never-ending process.”
”It feels like the dream is never actually going to happen.”
”It’s hard to watch this happen for other people when it’s still so far away for me.”
”What’s happening now is a lot of work but I know there are even harder steps ahead.”
”This experience is bringing out parts of me that are hard to face sometimes.”
”This dream would have been better suited for a more patient person.”
”I think I might be at a low point.”

OOF. There we are with the truth.

Let’s get a couple of other things out of the way before I say anything else.

1. Most importantly, I still feel absurdly excited and grateful to be in this position. I knew when I decided to go down the path of traditional publishing (as opposed to self-publishing) that it would be a longer road, and while there are certainly highs and lows along the way, I have zero doubts as far as the track I’m on and the team I have with me.

2. The extensive editing and revising process can mess with my your mind, but I also know that it’s making my book so much better. Each time I read through the manuscript from start to finish, I feel a renewed sense of excitement. Again, I’m reminded that I have found my way to an incredible team that continues to encourage me to do everything possible to give you the best finished book I can in 2026.

3. I’m not lying or even trying to be a teacher’s pet when I say that I enjoy the editing process itself. I do! There are some rounds and days that are harder than others, but I like the challenge of meeting each batch of feedback with fresh eyes and figuring out how to apply it to my work. It’s honestly helped me a lot in my personal life, too.

10 (mostly surprising) things I'm learning in the book editing process

What I’m bumping up against isn’t the editing itself. It’s the emotional baggage that I’m learning is more or less inescapable in this ~journey~.

And it really is a journey.

Let’s do a quick inventory of where things stand at the moment.

Here’s what’s happened already…

I wrote the book.
I edited the book a whole bunch of times.
I spent months pitching myself to literary agents.
I signed with an agent and worked with her on several additional rounds of edits.
My agent submitted my manuscript to publishers she thought would be the right fit.
I signed a contract with an editor at a dream publishing house.
I’ve worked through two more rounds of revisions with my editor.

Here’s what’s still ahead…

There will probably be another round of revisions or at least a final review of what’s already been done.
I’ll have to review copyedits and final pages.
We’ll nail down a final publishing date.
We’ll get into cover design.
We’ll talk about marketing strategy and start drumming up interest for the book.
I’ll get advance copies to share with my contacts and my personal network.
Pre-orders will open!
The book will be out in the world and the real work of sharing it will begin.

There are plenty of things I’m probably missing, too.

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Currently Reading: Wifey by Judy Blume

At this point, I’ve reread almost every book ever written by the wonderful Judy Blume for my podcast. Wifey is the first novel she ever wrote for adult readers and it is a ride so far. It’s Judy like I’ve never seen her before, with unbelievable levels of spice. It’s a nice palette cleanser before I jump into the rest of my November TBR.

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The mainstream publishing industry is flawed in many ways, but I’m also a big believer in its fundamental purpose: to find stories, to cultivate authors’ careers, and to make sure that more books get into the hands of more readers. As a whole, there’s still a long way to go in terms of diversity and transparency in the space, but I have chosen to take this route and I have no regrets.

It does, by nature, take a little longer, though. There’s a lot of down time, waiting for feedback or trying to hype yourself up to jump into more edits or anticipate the literal book being made.

Here’s why I suspect that I might be at a low point…

All this down time is really starting to get in my head.

Recently, a friend hypothesized that I’m feeling this way because I’m somewhere between one-third and one-half of the way through the process of seeing Too Blessed to Stress out in the world. I think this might be true. I’ve even tried to make a chart.