Tuesday 6 August 2019

I’ve had a bit of a busy week where my own work has suffered – and some of my clients’ work. But I’m sorting a few things with my dad’s estate that have finally come to fruition (it’s only taken a year …), and I’m amazed at how complicated it all is and how unhelpful some folk can be. It’s in hand, though, so I can get back to work.

I wasn’t completely idle, however.

On Friday 26 July, I read another chapter of the book for NetGalley, another chapter of the book for the Richard Cadbury research, and another chapter of the book for The Beast Within. And I completed a client edit.

That weekend, Monkey Dust (the poet’s band) were playing a local festival on the Saturday, and we took the Sunday off.

Then the admin stuff started, on Monday 29 July, but I did manage some more typing work for The Fool, transferring what I already have into the new Scrivener file. That afternoon was spent with Goldthorpe Writers. An editing job I was expecting didn’t materialise, and so I arranged some other things to do for that week …

… and then the new edit came in Tuesday morning, but there was no way I could even start it that day, and he wanted it back by Friday afternoon. No chance. I fired off a quick email, telling him it would still take five days and reminding him that I don’t work at the weekend, and he said that was fine. So that turned out okay in the end.

I had a hair appointment booked for Tuesday afternoon, which was one of the reasons I couldn’t start the work. I wasn’t even at the house. But when I got to my appointment, they didn’t have it, saying I hadn’t booked and there was no way she could fit me in. When she checked the computer, the girl I’d spoken to on Saturday to book the appointment had booked me in for the following week when I’d told her I needed it doing before the weekend.

So I cancelled it and made another appointment with another salon closer to home on the way home, for the coming Friday. I was a bit cross because, had I not been gallivanting about, I could have probably started the new edit after all. As it happened, I had more estate work to do anyway, and so I started the new edit the following morning.

A whole book takes me at least a week to do a thorough edit, longer if it’s not particularly very well-written. Fortunately this one is well-written and I’ve been able to carry on with it even amid the other stuff. Wednesday was also spent on the telephone again for much of the day.

On Thursday, a client whose work I like asked if I could squeeze in a quick proofread of a publicity flyer. It took me minutes, and so I did it without charge, and when he asked if I was sure, I asked if I could feature the cover of a book I’ve recently edited for him on my Upwork profile portfolio. (He said yes.)

Also on Thursday, I squeezed in a quick report of Monday’s writers’ group meeting and I wrote the review for the NetGalley book, which I’d finished reading in whatever down time I had. I loved this book, so that was quite a struggle, having to put it down and get on with work and admin. I stayed up late one night to finish it, though – until 1am – which is most unusual for me these days. (The poet was away on business, so that helped.)

On Friday morning, I carried on with the new edit, then went for my hair appointment at 12:30pm. Fortunately, this time, they’d taken the correct booking. My hair needed a good cut and re-shape, and now it’s quite short again. I did more of the client edit when I got home, and also transferred more of The Fool to the new Scrivener file.

At the weekend, Monkey Dust had another festival to attend on the Saturday, and we visited the poet’s mum, then on Sunday we went to see my mom – but the home was closed to visitors due to a sickness outbreak. It wasn’t an entirely wasted journey, though, as I wanted to pick up a load of finance paperwork from my parents’ house to start sorting through. What a task that will be.

Yesterday morning, then, I carried on with the edit before heading off to this week’s writers’ group meeting. I’m still a bit busy, though, so the write-up for that will no doubt appear later in the week (probably tomorrow, so I’ll skip Wednesday for the writing diary and do an update on Thursday, hopefully).

Today, I want to finish that client edit as he has another one he’s waiting to send to me. But I also have a proofread in from another client that they’ve asked to go on the top of the pile … I only ever do that for existing, reliable clients. And so I’ll have a look at that one too, but fortunately, a proofreading job doesn’t often take as long as an edit.

If I have any time left, I have two more scenes, around 1,400 words, of The Fool to transfer to the new file, and then I can carry on with that storyline.

4 thoughts on “Tuesday 6 August 2019

  1. If you have any time left!! How do you manage to cram it all in! 😀

  2. “An editing job I was expecting didn’t materialise, and so I arranged some other things to do for that week …
    … and then the new edit came in Tuesday morning, but there was no way I could even start it that day, and he wanted it back by Friday afternoon.”

    Ah… so familiar. A regular, lovely but highly disorganised client discussed the continuation of a project and a new one that he would send me “next week” (which would have been last week). Not a peep last week and not a peep *this* week – until today, when he asked if I could have the work on the continuing project completed by the end of the month if he sends me the briefs on Monday? 😀
    No mention of how much work that is, mind you… 😉

    It doesn’t matter how organised you try to be, does it? When work doesn’t turn up when expected, it’s impossible to even things out!

    1. It’s not necessarily having to reorganise everything either. I’m more miffed that he really thought I could read an 80,000-word novel *and* edit it (hard copy and on screen) in three days … I know I’m good, but … 😉

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