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not that easy!
monday, december 3, 2007 |
i don't know why, but i thought working from home would be pretty simple. i'd get to set my own hours and be able to make time to catch up on the things that piled up while subbing, and still be home for the kids, which is the one thing i've always wanted. i forgot how badly things pile up when i substitute, though, and my backlog of personal stuff is scary in its own right, even without the housework and editing work that's piling up. i knew creating a workable routine would be an issue since it's always been hard for me to settle into routines, but that doesn't come close to creating a routine that covers everything i need to get done in day.
right now from the "day job" i have a manuscript i need to finish for the press i'm leaving (feels like i've been leaving forever now), the first manuscript i need to start working on for lilley, and at least 5 manuscripts in the slush pile to be read. i neither edit nor read fast. i used to read fast, but that seems to have changed as i've gotten older. or maybe it's more analytical--the downside of lit analysis classes in college.and editing is still just new enough that i have to think about a lot of it. the one advantage i have at lilley is that i set the parameters for what we're doing. the disadvantage is the style sheet creation is still new to me and still likely to slow me down even more than when i just straight edit into the manuscript.
the reading shouldn't be too much of a big deal. i usually only give a manuscript 3 or 4 chapters to capture my attention. if it doesn't do it by then, i generally recommend not taking it on. some things don't make it even that far, but that's not as common with lilley since the acquisitions editor dumps anything that bad. but i also admit to being the toughest of the reading panel, which i also suspect has to do with those damn lit classes--they really did change the way i read, and not necessarily for the better. i'm easily dropped out of the story, and not just with plotting issues--visual "bumps" do it to me too. get enough of them and i will put the book aside and never pick it up again. and example of this is vellum. the story itself is fascinating, and it actually got me further into the book than i think i would have gotten if the story itself wasn't so good. but the paragraph formatting drove me nuts (teachers: STOP teaching kids to put a space between each and every paragraph. just stop.) and i eventually had to put it down. with manuscripts i have even less patience. i have 5 in my inbox now, but that is only going to grow so everything counts--story, voice, the technical stuff, and formatting. with all that in play, it shouldn't be all that difficult to decide my recommendations quickly. good thing too. even at our current 1 manuscript a day, the backlog will build pretty fast since i'm also doing edits and don't work weekends.
i suspect we'll be hiring a new editor sooner than later, especially if we manage to find 2 agreeable manuscripts in the pile of 5 i already have.
then there's the backlog of other stuff i need to get to. the "recovery" on alden.nu needs to get started since i'll have to fix everything "by hand"--meaning i have to recreate everything in moveable type and re-add the entries by re-posting them one at a time. no, i'm not looking forward to the mess this is going to create. or the time it will take--there's 100's of pages that need to be dealt with. i won't repost the news stuff, i'll just start fresh there, but everything else with only a few exceptions will need to be done this way to fix the pages. the good news is that the new server is much more conducive to using php and that will save me A LOT of work if i ever have to rebuild again. i'm also databasing the mt stuff so i have it available. i think i had a database with the old server, but, of course, that went up in smoke when the server crashed and burned. alden is going to take me a LONG time to get back up to par.
i also still need a new layout for next year. i thought about using baby cat for the design, but i'm not so sure for this year. which means i'm pretty much a blank on it and i'm running out of time. i'm also behind in writing related stuff. phoenix rising should be getting ready for the rough draft and i'm nowhere near, i'm about 8 chapters behind in my assassin's choice revisions, and i have a good dozen shorts (plus one novella) all being ignored because of the load right now. the only place i'm really caught up at is dreaming. i've pretty much got a monthly schedule down pat for the administrative stuff for that.
really, all working at home has done is add to my to do list.
speaking of which, lunch time is over. i need to switch loads of laundry, put dishes in the dishwasher, and get started on the second manuscript for the day. taz gets home around 4. add in homework and taking care of his dog, i have maybe 3 1/2 hours to do lilley editing, slush reading, 500 words on phoenix, start the alden stuff...oh, and chores.
easy. yea, right.
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word of the moment: accension
the act of kindlingor setting on fire, or the state of being kindled; inflammation; ignition |
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