Chapter 53: Editing. Or why authors are often alcoholics

“Today,” she said after a few seconds, “we’re going to talk about editing. Do you want to do it here, or do you want to go to a bar?”

He looked at her, his brow furrowing. “Why a bar?”

“You might need a drink. The things we’re going to talk about are kind of heavy.”

“Heavy how?”

She took a deep breath. Stick to writing, at least at first. “A novel is like a child. You pour your heart and soul into creating them; building them up, making sure they can stand on their own. You love them, you nurture them, you protect them from the world. But sooner or later, you have to be a mother bird. You need to throw them out of the nest and make them fly. It’s a tough process.”

Steve took a deep breath. “I’m ready for it.”