Revision Journal: Day One

Sorting through notes

Today I start revising my book again.

Today I am going through my beta reader notes, printing out my book manuscript, and doing my best to understand how my book resonates with others. What to keep. What’s strong.

I sold my book in May of 2019. When I got the news that someone wanted to publish my book, I was holding a baby in my arms. For the past five months I’d been working 50 hours a week as a nanny in Seattle, taking care of two babies in a nanny share. I loved the babies (and the two families) but I’d not been able to find stable housing in Seattle, and had bounced from sublet to shared airbnb to sublet, all the while working on my book proposal in the early morning hours and on weekends. Only a few days before my books sold, someone had broken into my car and stolen boxes of family heirlooms, including photographs and letters that had belonged to my mother— worthless to them, but worth everything to me.

Was I thrilled when I sold my book? God yes. My publisher is one I deeply r…