Disappointment in discovering that overachieving is only because of underestimating

43. Wednesday 11 March 2026

I had a walk (in approximately seven weather conditions over an hour), baked sourdough, ate sourdough, had a siesta, read a bit AND edited up to the end of chapter 20, meaning I’ve gone through 84 of 207 pages with my highlighter pens. I went through nine chapters today, again more than the five I’d set myself as a daily target. Disappointingly, I do now realise that merely highlighting problem words, sentences and paragraphs (and in one case, a whole chapter) with a selection of coloured highlighters is not a particularly challenging stage of the editing process so five chapters per day was perhaps under ambitious. But anyway, I’m on a roll.

                When I was studying, if that’s the right word, writing over the first year or so of the pandemic, I remember being mildly obsessed with finding out how published authors wrote and edited. It took me a long time to realise that we are all different and there is no right or wrong method. It’s about finding what methods work for you. One of many things that surprises me in the editing process is that for the first [insert larger number than you’d expect] reads of my novel, I still make changes, even just the odd word or punctuation. Once no more changes seem necessary, I think that’s when, for me at least, my novel is ready to send out to agents. I am further away from that stage than I probably expected to be. In fact, I have a vague recollection that I expected to be ready to start writing my agent-ready synopsis and the basics of an agent letter by the end of February. My friend Becky and I have just been messaging and she’d asked if I was ready to start submitting to agents. I estimated another two months. However, I’m hopeful that that is an overestimate.

                Tomorrow, I hope to exceed my target of five chapters again. It’s forecast to be cold, wet and extremely windy tomorrow – surely that’s stay-at-home/desk weather?!