50 / 50 (100.0%)

Done!

And I’m never doing it again

It’s not easy, by any stretch of the imagination, to find a method of measuring editing. Page numbers could be tried, but would a page with no changes count? What about a page gone through more than once? Does it count as one, or one or each time? A completely revised piece could be used, but what dictates length? Does a flash fiction piece or a poem count the same as novel? I’ve known people who have spent years getting a poem just right, and others who have gone through an entire novel in a weekend. How can you relate the two? So, I understand the issues inherent in trying to find a way to measure and validating the editing process.

All the same, I couldn’t stand having to measure the time.

Perhaps it was because I felt almost as thought I had to be physically present more than I had to be working. It was like punching a clock: I’m in, and go; I’m out and stop. We assuming the entire time in between is spent plugging away, as opposed to putzing around. There’s nothing wrong with that style of management, and it’s good for establishing a regular schedule. It just doesn’t seem to be how I work best.

There was something about having those fifty hours grinding away in the background that prevented me from fully engaging with the work. In the end, I did feel like I was merely putting in the time, not the effort.

Not that I didn’t accomplish a lot. I did, and I was glad for the kick in the rear it gave me. All the same, I believe I will have to find a different way to motivate myself from hereon out.