About a month ago I distributed copies of my manuscript to the four people who are doing editing for me. A couple of them are focusing more on the “big picture” of the book – identifying gaps or concepts that need clarification and evaluating the overall feel of the book. The other two are doing detail grammatical and sentence structure work.

Since I distributed the manuscripts, I haven’t personally touched the book. I thought it would be helpful to step back and clear my mind a little so that I can approach it with a fresher perspective when I set about to incorporate the editorial suggestions. As I’ve begun getting feedback from my editors, I had to decide how to respond. Here’s the list I’ve come up with for how to handle feedback from editors:

1. Listen.
2. Humbly receive every comment and critique.
3. Ask questions to clarify what changes they are suggesting.
4. Take notes that you can refer to on your own later.
5. Don’t become discouraged; remind yourself that it will be better in the end because of the contribution of others to the finished product.
6. Re-evaluate what you want readers to take away from the book and what you want the overall tenor of the book to be.
7. Wait until you have received complete input for the entire book and/or from all the editors before you begin implementing changes.
8. Pray for wisdom and discernment.
9. Determine what suggested editorial changes will enhance the message of the book and are worthy of implementation.
10. Implement changes.

I’ve made it to number 7 thus far and am in the waiting stage. This has been a tough process, but I continue to learn a lot and am truly grateful for the friends who are expending their time and energy to help make Pajama School a success. I am clinging to the hope that it will all be worth it in the end!