After four days of editing my Mary ms, I’m about to write a brief note to my editor, Lil Copan, to tell her that writing in green instead of red doesn’t lessen the pain. Sure, sure, I’ll tell her, the book is now much better. But, dang, isn’t there an easier way?
Kris has heard the groans from my study. At one point I said with considerable alarm: “How could she not like this paragraph?!”

But, two things made this revising experience a good one: first, on one point she said “Perfeck.” That’s a first for me. And one afternoon I went three or four pages with hardly a comment on the pages. That’s also a first for me. I figured I had worn her down!