When is Done Done?

I’ve been asked by other writers, “how do you know when you’re done with your book?” The answer is, I’m not sure. Writing the first draft of a book is probably the easiest part of writing. The real work, in my opinion, comes during the editing process. I did about five drafts of Watertown Fires and after the fifth draft I thought I was finished…….until I let an editor get her hands on it! She laid into my poor manuscript, which was a good thing. Some of the things she suggested required extensive rewrites. I believe you could edit a manuscript until the end of time. Truth is eventually you’ll have to be ‘done’ and let your manuscript go. But you owe it to yourself and your manuscript to give it the rigorous editing attention it deserves.