Avoiding the inevitable

Gene Fowler said: “Writing is easy: All you do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead.” That is how I feel about editing. I hate it. I hate staring at a set of words I once wrote with passion and verve, only to be forced to correct them. I always thought of myself more of a poet than a writer, and more of a fiction writer than a nonfiction writer. And of all the nonfiction genres I was sure I’d never write, travel guides were on the top of that list. Why? Details my friend, details. I hate them. A German phone number here and an Italian address there creates insanity in my brain. I am dyslexic and it is not a secret that I like to share. It is embarrassing and I hate it when people use dyslexia as an excuse for making stupid mistakes like, “Oh sorry I did not give you enough cash, I’m dyslexic.”

The best way to describe what editing is like for a dyslexic is to take a bunch of letters and numbers and put them in a bathtub and let them float around. It is very easy to put words down on paper – much like putting ducks into warm bath water. It is systematic organizing of them that takes so much work. Letters spin in our heads, words wrap around sheets of paper, and sentences turn into images instead of cohesive thoughts.

My manuscript is back from Penguin and I have 2 weeks to go through and edit it. Did you know that big publishing houses still edit on paper, not on electronic word documents? I think it’s a big waste of time, to FedEx manuscripts back and forth, but that is the way it is.

FLY SOLO is pre selling on amazon.com. It is a fabulous feeling seeing my name there. To me, it’s like seeing my name in lights on Broadway. I did it! I got an agent, I got a publisher, I wrote a book, and now it’s pre selling on the world’s largest book reseller – cool! But before any of that can happen, I have to finish editing it. Ick.

Can you hear me?

Yesterday I had tubes put into my ears to help me hear better and to equalize the air pressure behind my ear drum. What a trip! I am hearing in a different part of my head now, and my voice sounds totally different. It is really freaky and I know it’s going to take me a while to get used to it.

Oh, it didn’t help that I was not feeling well the night before my operation. I was feeling a bit tired the morning of the operation, but it was not until yesterday that I hit a wall and got real sick. I am sure that detoxing had something to do with it, I wanted to get the toxins out, but not when I am getting tubes put into my head! Note to self the next time I decide to detox.

I am still collecting picture for my book. If you have a picture of yourself in Lisbon, St. Petersburg, or Stockholm, can you send it over to me please? You will need to be alone in the shot and it needs to be outdoors. You can e-mail me at jetset@tangodiva.com. You will need to sign a release form if I use it, and you won’t get paid, but you get to be in a book!