March 17, 2025

The Editing Process

Apologies for the delay in correspondence!

I know no one’s keeping score, but I really do want to update these emails weekly! I skipped last week, because I couldn’t figure out how to make a comic while traveling, speaking at a literary festival, and spending time with my family. For this week, I had a whole comic written and laid out about my time at the Hill Country Literary Festival that I really wanted to send today. I even started drawing it! I might finish it at a later date, but for now, I need to admit to myself that the editing process is killing me.

As you might know by now, I am writing a cocktail book! I got the developmental notes on the manuscript back from my editor last week, and it’s been a lot. On previous projects, when this edit came in, it was easier – I guess because it was my coauthor’s words that were getting murdered? This time around, it is my words that are getting murdered. I liked those words! I cared deeply for those words! But I am very fortunate to have an amazing, excellent editor, and her words are better. My editor is real heckin good at words. I am less good at words.

So I’ve been spending the last two weeks dragging my bruised ego through these edits. I reiterate: they are good edits and will make my book better! But they are also painful and difficult, and I’ve had to rewrite several pages, which will means I will have to redraw already-completed thumbnail sketches for several pages. This process is demoralizing, humbling, disorientating, exhausting, deflating, etc. It’s also 100% necessary and will make this book as good as it can possibly be.

I should be done with the developmental edit this week, and then I can go back to thumbnailing and drawing. There’s still a massive amount of work to do, but at least that part of the process is more fun.

In other news, I had a great time at the Hill Country Literary Festival! I led a workshop on food illustration that went really well, I sat on a discussion panel with some amazingly talented illustrators (Kat Fajardo! Lalena Fisher! Vanessa Roeder! Kristin Wauson!). I ate some excellent brisket and saw a roadrunner!

I also got to meet Johnny Compton and have him sign a book for me! It was a surprise and delight to see him there, I read his book The Spite House last year and absolutely loved it.

I also had a great time visiting my family in San Antonio. I baked with my dad! I made art with my sister! I introduced my nephew to D&D, and he introduced me to Look Back, one of the most powerfully moving and beautifully animated movies I’ve seen in a very long while. It was a gorgeous story about friendship and loss and making art, and I can’t stop thinking about it.

UPCOMING THINGS:

• I’ll be in Des Moines this weekend, Saturday March 22 for the Des Moines Book Festival! If you’re in the area come by and say hi! I’ll be speaking on a panel with other illustrators, and signing books, and I would love to sign yours.

• I’m teaching a zinemaking class on March 29 at Hey I Thought of You! in Chicago! Sign up here!

• I’ll be in Artists Alley at C2E2 this year!

What I’m into lately: Besides tearing my hair out over this developmental edit??? Reading Johnny Compton’s most recent book, Devils Kill Devils. It’s very different from The Spite House, but it’s a wild ride and an interesting story, and I’m really enjoying it so far. I honestly can’t wait to see what else this guy writes!

What Toki’s into lately: Recharging his solar battery while waiting for spring!