[staggering] Well
that was fun...
Sat down this morning all prepared to print out the manuscript (all 208 pages of it, single-sided, 1.5 line space, 60,908 words, still a bit over brief) and took a look at the contract. Ken points to a clause and says, "Are you sure you've [fulfilled this condition]?"
Me - "I think so."
"Are you sure?"
"No..."
[growl] Cue three hours of trawling through the .docs to make sure (in fact I had
more than fulfilled it, but it was important to check). Then Kim arrived with Sarah and Sasha to take Kai and I to my favourite garden centre.
Only she thought it closed at 6. It didn't, it closed at 5, so we only had 45 minutes to look around. [pout] And they had no silk orchids. However, they did have
cobalt blue tarantula spiderlings, my absolute favourites: pity they're so aggressive or I might have come home with one. They had
Brazilian white knees too, at ridiculously low prices (I overheard the assistant say that spiders aren't all that popular at the moment...)
No, I mustn't. It's bad enough coping with the animals I already have. Though there'd be less wastage on crickets if I had two tarantulas eating them...
[shakes head] Where was I? Oh yes...
Back home, coffee, chat, dinner, shower for Kai, rang grandparents - then settled down to print.
zzzzzzzzzzpprt
[sigh] Reinstall printer drivers.
zzzzzzzzzzpprt
Second reinstall, now getting anxious. Ken's printer works, but it's a Lexmark and will only manage about 50 pages before the bloody minute ripoff ink cartridge runs out.
zzzzzzzzzzpprt
Grind teeth. Dig out HP instructions for full reinstall. Copy all .docs to pendrive
and CD. Unplug printer. Close down computer. Replug printer. Boot up computer. Computer finds 'new hardware' and automatically reinstalls. Ken amalgamates 10 .docs into one master file, just in case...
zzzzzzzzzzpprt
AAAARRRGGGHHH!! Snarl at computer, threaten Butch with absolutely
no lemons
ever again unless he cooperates, fingers stamp off across keyboard and reinstall drivers yet
again, hit 'print'...
Nearly collapse as printer starts printing.
Then discover that Ken had pasted two of the same .docs into the master file...
No, I didn't stop printing. I'm not
that stupid! We watched for paperjams and fed in more paper for an hour, then corrected the error and tried to reprint just those 30 pages.
zzzzzzzzzzpprt
Swore volubly at computer and handed pendrive to Ken to print out missing pages on his computer upstairs, which he did -
without the ink running out.
The manuscript is now parcelled up, with a copy burned to CD, and ready to go in the post tomorrow. Though I think I should take it upstairs and sleep with it chained to my wrist or something to make sure it survives the night!
[sigh] It's just as well I'm nuts, or the stress would drive me insane.
Hey, it's
FINISHED!! Well, there'll still be editing to do, next year, but the bulk of the work is
done! 'oo-bloody-ray!
And I checked the contract - the book is due to hit the bookstores next October, so even now I've finished it I still can't write in any detail about it. Eh well - this time next year...
I'm going to have a drink now. Cheers!
#
Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor
pontificated this at 12:35 am
0 Comments:
Post a Comment