The joy of editing + manuscript version numbers

I am relieved, exhausted and mildly terrified to announce the editorial letter edits have been sent to Editor Kathleen.  Which is what I've been doing for the last days instead of blogging.

Here's the process:

1. Read the author note aloud, five times in a row.  
2. On the fifth read, stop halfway through and change a sentence.  Start reading again from the top.
3. Realize the change isn't right.  Change it again.
4. Read again from the top.  
5. Read five more times and then change another sentence.
6. etc etc etc
   
7. Next day, while reading the author note aloud for the 5,667,897th time, realize the section I spent most of the time on yesterday isn't necessary and delete it.

The major version number on the ms I sent is 17.  Version 1 was the first completed draft which, in my delusion, I considered plot-complete if not polished.  I still have that version1; its last modified date is 18 July 2006.

This doesn't mean the ms has been edited 17 times; as near as I can calculate, the file has been opened for editing in excess of 600 times over 3 years.  It means this is the 17th time there has been a release to someone else, containing a change significant enough to warrant a checkpoint.

I'm not finished yet.  Kathleen might come back and say something needs fixing, and it's certain the copyeditor will find problems.  Version 18 is guaranteed, maybe even 19, possibly 20.  But I know what I've sent in is very strong.  Everything from this point is minor fixes.  This time I really am plot-complete.