My book HAS TO BE sent out Monday (or so insists my editor). I'm not talking about sent out from me to them... I'm talking sent out to go to print--text in its place, illustrations, all of it!
It's Sat. and I have to work from 4-10:30 today. This is what I need to do tonight (?) and tomorrow.
1) 4 illustrations (3 if my F&G doesn't have ends)
2) The author's note. It's not fact checked (can't trust copyediting for this one!) and it's not done
3) I had hired physical therapists to help me put exercises in the back. They did their part but I decided they should write an intro. I decided this on friday. I'd need it by mon. morning. Clearly that isn't going to happen.
4) artwork to go with the exercises
5) a bibliography? Do I need one? Any opinions? I used lots of newspaper clippings, a few books, etc. I'm not really wanting to put this in there for the kids but rather to cover my own butt because the info is so conflicting
6) a note from an M.D?
As you can see, I'm totally screwed.
My F&G will not contain endpapers at this point. It might not have a bibliography. The exercises will at best contain sketches as placeholders for the finished illustrations. Oh my, this F&G is going to be awful! The designer jokingly said she'd put little smiley faces on the blank pages. However, IF I were famous, perhaps it would be a collector's item. What book has sketches of the artwork? None.
Look for a weird F&G soon!
Weird facts surrounding the book—I STILL can’t spell exercise right and I must have had to type the darn word 2,000 times. Am I an idiot or what? I also am TRYING to remain calm. For ALIENS I experienced a panic attack for the first time—major heart palpitations, chest pains, shortness of breath, lightheadedness at 5am… or DID I have a heart attack? Calm music currently listening to—Nick Drake. Yeah, nice and calm.
Meghan McStresscase
8 comments:
Great good luck to you, Meghan Mc!No words of wisdom, other than you do what you can do, and trust the rest will fall into place. You've seemed to be lucky in the Shaker adage of "finding yourself where you ought to be" so far, with your energy, drive and talent, I can't believe that you're anywhere other than still in the right place at the right time (loved the crowd scene).
Meghan, good luck! I would totally leave the bibliography for later (surely that can be added in, ALvina?) and get the stuff that matters most to you in there.
Could you say that the bibliography is to come and you definitely want one BECAUSE the evidence is so contradoctory? (or some butt-covering statement that will suggest that idea without the time-consuming tedium of putting it all together at this point)
Gah poor thing! Hang in there!
You can do it! (is that the slogan for something?)
But, don't kill yourself or hand in work that will haunt you with nightmares later. I've learned that the HARD way.
which book is this anyway?
Yeah, what book is this? Exercises? Huh?
It's fine to have an incomplete F&G, I think, espeically since it sounds like it's mostly done. Yeah, Bibliography can come later, but i don't know what book this is so can't judge if it's important to have one or not. And endpapers, shmendpapers.
Buyers will get the idea, know what your finished book will look like (actually, any bookbuyers/librarians out there want to comment?). But wow--it's great (I think) that your publisher is letting you keep it on this list! I would think they wouldn't want to rush you so much--I mean, this sounds extreme!. Is this book very timely, so it HAS to come out on the list it's on?
Oh, and GOOD LUCK! YOU CAN DO IT! (at least some of it)
Grace, i think you're thinking of the Nike slogan, "Just do it." "You can do it" is what our former roommate Jon chanted to unpopped corn kernals in the microwave.
"You can DO it! You can POP!"
The book is about a fitness/weightlifter guy. The exercises in the back are sort of a continuation of the theme... sort of--If you want to do what he did then try this....
I am signed up for 4 books after this one--2 with RH and 2 with S&S. IF the book doesn't stay on the list then the domino effect will occur and things could be UGLY. Ugh! What's worse is that my bookseller job is at stake, too. Do I make it to work on time or finish the book and possibly get in trouble at work?
I have a migraine and hope I don't get nauseous or this will not happen today! Ah!
Thanks for the support. You guys are the best. Some people don't understand the deadlines, etc., and it's great to know a group of people who understand that books= pressure!
meghan
ay, meghan that just sounds awful. I hope you are well through the work by now! I know this is hard to keep in mind in light of all the stress being heaped upon you, but the most important thing is to take care of your health!!! Just do what you can, the rest can be added in later.
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