I am about two-thirds to three-quarters into the memoir I am writing about the year I lived in Mexico as a young teenager. Currently, my editor is working on new chapters I added in June/July. She already edited previous chapters and gave me suggestions on how to make my own edits, deletions (mostly...because I tend to write way more than necessary to get my story told!), and additions.
Being a translator and editor, I always stubbornly resisted the idea of hiring an editor for my writing because my thought was always, "I am a good editor. I don't misspell words or use incorrect grammar or punctuation. Why in the world would I need an editor for my writing?" Silly me. A good editor is so much more than just a checker of errors. She gives a writer the objective view of what is written and chops and dices it up to the point where only the beautiful jewels of the story are left, without all the flotsam and jetsam that some writers (me included) tend to keep in their story when it's not needed or wanted.
I love the process of writing this memoir because it's making me relive the most important year of my life. And lucky me - I was able to spend a couple of months in Mexico with my relatives in late winter/early spring this year. I visited relatives, friends, and places that played important roles in my memoir. I reviewed memories with my cousins and aunts and uncles to make sure I don't blatantly mis-remember anything. All of that was really helpful.
But there are some things neither I nor anyone else really remembers in full detail. So some of the events I am writing about, though based entirely on reality, are embellished with details from my imagination. Now - 43 years after the time I am writing about - I simply cannot remember every detail of every event. So I add things that help keep the story interesting, funny and that keep the reader wanting to read on.
I can see the rest of the memoir as it will unfold to the end. It will be finished by the end of this year, I think. And then I will email the literary agent who agreed to sell it to a publisher for me at a writers conference I attended ealier this year. And she will present it to publishers, one of which will agree to publish it and help me market it. And you all will buy it, as well as millions of other people around the world!