Because really, there is no such thing as too much editing.
I’ve talked about this before, but my method of editing usually involves comprehensive rewrites – as in, I rewrite the book, again and again, from beginning to end, as many time as it takes. Keeps my rhythm going, allows me to pour out the story, layer in the details until I feel like I’ve got it right. It’s time consuming, but it works. For me, anyway. Could be a time when I’ll start doing things differently, but I kind of doubt it.
But see, the stories can change in radical ways with this method. Take, for example, the original first paragraph to Shadow Touch:
When Elena Baxter began to scream, the doctor slipped a gag into her mouth. The old man�s movements were quick, precise. Practiced. He dodged her snapping teeth with easy grace, pushing hard inside her mouth until she choked on the thick cotton.
And so on and so on. Here’s the current version:
Shortly before being shot in the back with a tranquilizer dart and dumped half-dazed on a stretcher, and right before being stolen from the hospital by silent men in white coats, Elena Baxter stood at the end of a dying child�s bed, her hand on a small bare foot, and attempted to perform a miracle.
I stayed with the first version for a long time, until someone very rightly pointed out that it did not provode the reader with any sense of Elena’s powers, her life, or her personality. She was just this woman in distress, and that’s not really all that interesting. So I rewrote. Put in a new beginning. Threw out the original and used it at a different place in the book, after the reader has gotten a chance to know Elena and really care about her (hopefully).
Anyway, this kind of thing happens all the time. Beginnings change, books evolve. Take nothing for granted, no matter how stubbornly you want to hold on to something you think is perfect. If it doesn’t help the story, that’s it. If it’s holding you back, that’s it. I guess. Everyone is different. Personally, I’m like a bull in a china shop when it comes to my books. Everything gets broken when I start in on revisions.