Don't miss seeing the forest for the trees

It's back to the waiting game for "The Tiger's Cub", as there are a couple of corrections that need to be made before the next edit.  While waiting, I'm visiting all the social networks that I've joined, seeking someone willing to assist me, especially as I thought I had done a good job on "Night of the Tiger".  A recent reading when I was camping in the north woods of Maine, when my reading light battery gave out and the only book I had on my IPhone was the Kindle edition of "Night of the Tiger", proved to me that I can tend to miss things by simply being too familiar with the material, no matter how careful I try to be.

So I've been going into discussion groups and reading about who does editing professionally, what to expect for fees, and who is the best person to hire.  (I'm working part time in retail at the moment, barely making bill payments, so most of these professionals are WAY out of my price range.)

I've been spending time in meditation and prayer, trying to get myself in the right frame of mind to be ready to read my work as if I was a total stranger to it.  Unfortunately, Chase and Aloriah are too fresh in my mind, so I'm having a hard time "banishing" these two strong personalities.  While this kind of character makes me feel better in my writer's heart, because they will command the attention of readers and find a place in the reader's heart, it doesn't bode well for me to be able to edit this myself.  I may be missing a tiny, twisting sapling that is sitting in plain sight because I'm too familiar with this trail I'm on, and I really don't want to introduce the jewel that is Chase to the world in a shabby setting.

Having been asked for an update by a Facebook friend, I did a public status report, letting those who have been with me on this long journey know that we're nearing the end of the trail.  I ended by doing a somewhat tongue-in-cheek request for a volunteer to do an edit in exchange for a free signed book.

I hit pay dirt.

The first response was from a dear friend who speaks English as a second language and jokingly responded that he would volunteer, but probably wasn't my best choice for the job.  As we joked back and forth about his grasp of English grammar, another friend's inner grammar Nazi caught several minor gaffs he made.  She volunteered - and has promised to be brutally critical.  She thinks I should be afraid of her "threat", but my writer's heart is dancing.  While I was busily going down the path, looking for professional help, I was ignoring a companion who was making the trip at my side.  I feel confident now that any stunted saplings that still exist in my work will be cut down by my friend.