Followers of this blog might have seen Saturday’s post, in which I moaned and groaned about having no editing to do on Mr. Gunn & Dr. Bohemia, and how it was turning me into a nervous wreck.
I needn’t have worried. Before the day was out, a batch of line edits appeared in my inbox, and yesterday (Sunday) turned out to be a busy day—my changes went back to Jessica, my line editor, and then more came back, and before I knew it, files were bouncing back and forth like tennis balls at Wimbledon. A great day for progress.
And in the middle of all this, something else happened, the significance of which I didn’t realise right away. Chapters 10 & 11—the last two that were with Terri, my copy editor—were approved, and sent through to line editing. It doesn’t sound like much, and it didn’t really hit until Terri sent an email later.
Copy editing is done. DONE! Another milestone!
But there’s a downside. It means that Terri’s role in the project is at an end. Of course, that’s the way process goes—but I was surprised at just how personally the news impacted me. Terri and I have been working on this book for so long, it’s going to seem strange not having her wit and wisdom for the last stages.
There will be other projects, though, and that’s a good thought.
In other news: the release date for Mr. Gunn & Dr. Bohemia has been brought forward! It was originally slated for November 15, but that’s changed; if all goes well, it’ll be available a few weeks earlier. I have a new date, but for now I’m keeping it under my hat—the deadlines are obviously much tighter now, and I don’t want to say something, only to have to change it again in the event that we slip a few days. But so far, we’re well on track to make it happen. Copy editing is complete, almost two weeks ahead of deadline, and line editing is going well. It’s looking good.
Potential problem, at least for today: I woke up with a fever, headache, and a sore throat. It’s not strep throat—despite the fact that some people at work have had that recently, this is something else. I’ve called in to take the day as sick—but there’s editing to be done, and I know that I won’t be able to rest in bed knowing that I could be doing something, even if it’s only a little bit, to push on. So I’m writing this post as a warm-up. And now it’s done, and it’s time to get some Dayquil and coffee, and take a gentle run at Chapter 4 line edits.
Until next time . . .
Pete Ford 