This can be a very hard time. Often we are not prepared and we can have difficulty adjusting. You might feel anger or despair. These feelings are normal. Many people experience a series of psychological stages that go through a predictable sequence. The following list describes the most common feelings you might experience.
1) Shock
Red. Red everywhere. I feel like someone just kicked me. This was once a clean, beautiful manuscript, and now it's awful, a horrible tangle of strikeouts and lines and margin notes. There's hardly a sentence that hasn't been hacked up, starting with the title!
2) Denial
This cannot be true. Surely this is some sort of mistake. I spent hours and hours on the document, and I read it over before I sent it to the editor. Some of these edits -- well, I'm floored. There is no way that I said something that dumb! Or that I misspelled that word. Nuh-uh.
3) Anger
I'm starting to get irritated. What the -- ? That's a stupid edit. And so's that one. Ha! That's just wrong! Smartypants editors, think they know everything! Well, let me just set that editor straight ...
4) Despair
Gad. Look at this. I'll never be a writer. What a disaster. Jeez, what if someone else sees this thing?!? I'll probably get fired. Why did I ever think I could do this?
5) Acceptance
Well, I guess that that's a good point. Hmm. Yeah, I can see that. I agree, that sounds better. Hmm. Hmm. Ok, I guess I'll start here at the top ...
6) Love
OMG, thank you so much for fixing this up. Holy cow, what if it had gone out without editing?!
7) Impatience
Hey, can I have that document back? I have a deadline, you know.
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