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Limits of Power passed Editor’s approval (my reworking of her comments) and heads for the copy editor on Monday. I don’t know what the CE’s schedule is. Since Editor did a line edit, and has approved the variations, one would hope CE keeps sticky fingers off the dialogue, but you never know. At any rate, I should have the copy edited pages to review sometime between the convention I’m going to on the last weekend in July (ArmadilloCon, for those of you in the Austin area), and WorldCon at the end of August.
Beyond that, when I return the copy edits, Limits will go into the next stage of production, typesetting, where the now-well-marked-up manuscript and the book designer’s art are smushed together software-wise, and come out looking like real book pages…we hope. Usually this works quite smoothly with only the occasional error. I will get page proofs to go through (and they have other proof-readers, thank goodness, because the deadline on page proofs is usually tighter than the one for copy edits, so it’s easy for a fast-reading person to miss something.) Then comes the ARC stage. Well, actually, the ARCs are made off the unproofed file, to save time.
Then the corrections from proofs go back through the software, hopefully fixing things and not introducing more errors, and the clean file awaits its slot in the printer’s queue, and then the binder’s queue, while the other copy of the clean file is being reformatted for the various e-readers (a step that wasn’t necessary 20 years ago), and the cover for the hardback is being printed and shipped to the bindery, to be mated with (we all hope) the right book.
Meanwhile, for me, it’s on to Book Five, and the map for Book Four. In the hiatus between the last time I worked on the map and now, the room has filled up with things shoved in there when I needed to empty out the living room (which is filling up anyway.) Also yarn. She who decides to knit socks needs yarn, two 100 g. balls per pair of socks, for the socks I’m knitting. So I need to shove things back to the edges, giving me room to get to the drafting table, and get back in there at least two hours/day.
Unrelated to Paks, but good news, is that Random House is putting out a 10th anniversary edition of The Speed of Dark next year. I need to write a foreward for it. Fairly quickly. Along with getting Book Five into very high gear, as I’m behind my personal schedule. (Some things from Book Four needed to be approved/not approved by Editor before I could do some parts of Book Five.)
Addendum…should have mentioned that the current version of Limits is 862 manuscript pages and 170,635 words (by Word count) without front matter.
Comment by Adam Baker — July 7, 2012 @ 8:43 am
That is excellent news, always great to hear that things are progressing smoothly!
Any idea if you’re going to be at Dragon Con this year? Chances are I wont be able to make it, but I always hope to go. Would love to try getting my hardbacks autographed.
Comment by elizabeth — July 7, 2012 @ 9:21 am
I will not be at DragonCon this year–I’m going to WorldCon in Chicago instead. Friends of mine in Texas won the bid for WorldCon next year–in San Antonio–so I’m going to WorldCon to help them out, and I’ll be in San Antonio next year as well. I’ll probably switch to DragonCon the year after, 2014, unless by some miracle I’m a Hugo nominee that year (don’t expect it, but hey, if it happens I’ll do the happy dance.)
Comment by Adam Baker — July 7, 2012 @ 2:57 pm
Well, if you are going to be there in 2014 than I will do absolutely everything I can to be there.
I was really hoping to go last year when you were there & Anne McCaffrey was supposed to be there. I didnt find out until after DC was over that Ms. McCaffrey had canceled b/c of her health. I had been really interested in attending the DRoP group stuff that was supposed to go on.
Comment by Iphinome — July 7, 2012 @ 3:40 pm
@Adam Baker Come to worldcon instead. Some really neat Paksworld blog people will be there. Make the trip, see wonderful people, and Iphinome.
Comment by Genko — July 7, 2012 @ 4:11 pm
Hooray for progress! Yes, clearing out space (that got cluttered up trying to clear out other space) is definitely going on this time of year. I have to get a bunch of stuff out of the attic and will rent a storage unit, and begin transporting, hopefully doing some sorting/getting rid of first, but you never know. In any case, it’s always nice to finish one aspect of a project and then to move on to the next.
Comment by elizabeth — July 7, 2012 @ 8:24 pm
Adam, I can’t promise to be at DragonCon in 2014–too many things can happen in the interim–but I’m trying to figure out a way to alternate DragonCon and WorldCon. Because they overlap, I meet different fans at each one.
You might try for the San Antonio WorldCon next year, esp. if you’ve never been there. I know it’s a distance, but the mission trail is fascinating. Totally different culture.
Comment by Kerry aka Trouble — July 7, 2012 @ 8:24 pm
Iphinome @ 4: I will be at Worldcon as well. Please stop by the art show and say Hi (running the art show means I will be stuck in there all week most likely.)
Comment by elizabeth — July 7, 2012 @ 8:46 pm
You’re running the art show, Kerry? That is a HUGE job. I’ll hope to see you there (and yet hope that sometimes you get a little time to wander around yourself.) You probably know Scott Zrubek, who’s going to be doing the same thing at LoneStarCon3 next year…really good guy, has been doing art show work for years.
Comment by Iphinome — July 7, 2012 @ 9:00 pm
@Kerry aka Trouble
Will do. I should be be easy to spot, tall yellow hair, blue surcote, “mail” if I can find myself a bigger knitting loom to make it on. We should totally make plans. Instead of the usual trying to get your favorite author drunk, we can try to get her stuffed with goodies. I’ve got a line on some European chocolate but don’t tell the Lady, we’ll surprise her.
She’ll never suspect. Bwahahahahahaha
Comment by Richard — July 8, 2012 @ 2:20 am
@Iphinome and @Kerry, have a great Con. Elizabeth, have two.
This is a bit late for Editor now, and maybe more background than a CE is allowed, but here is a cribsheet about the saints.
Now these were the heroes of old:
True Falk (was a knight so we’re told)
Camwyn-mastered-dragon
Blunt Gird with a flagon
And Torre the young woman so bold.
Wait wait! That is wrongfully told.
Falk’s Oath (as we say) was of gold.
Born a prince to be knight
He refused to show fight:
His youth, for his brothers, he sold.
“The dragons of yore are all gone
Thank Camwyn for that,” says my song
“For them he did master”
– Oh no, what disaster!
They really did stay all along.
Gird’s story is badly well know’d
By him were the magelords o’erthrow’d.
When sometimes he would drink
“Drink is bad,” he would think
“I’d better put that in the Code”.
When tyrant would make Torre his bride
To ransom herself she did Ride
On a desperate course
With a magical horse:
Her Necklace as stars has been skied.
So these were the heroes of old:
Rubied Falk (whose Oath was true gold)
Camwyn (talked with Dragon?)
Blunt Gird “on the wagon”
Torre Big-Nose the woman so bold.
Comment by Kerry aka Trouble — July 8, 2012 @ 5:19 am
Elizabeth – You mentioned Scott to me at D*C last year when we talked in the hall by the food court. I wrote to him and he is on my staff 🙂
Comment by Jenn — July 8, 2012 @ 10:35 am
Richard,
That was awesome. It is my cut paste/file.
I can see the next arc contest now…
Poetry on Paksworld. It doesn’t need to be good you just need to enter and hope your the random winner.
Comment by Richard — July 8, 2012 @ 5:00 pm
Jenn,
until last autumn I had never written so much as a limerick in rhyming verse so “knew” I couldn’t; but as Elizabeth’s first piece of advice to anyone wanting to be a writer is “write”, maybe your idea will push more people into starting. What works for me is I need an example whose rhythm/structure I can copy and a few keywords. Once I have a verse, it is best left to simmer for a few days of revision. (Mostly tweaking the odd word, but the middle of Falk’s verse above is a complete replacement because what I first had wasn’t so central to his story.)
Comment by Iphinome — July 9, 2012 @ 3:55 am
@jenn That hardly seems a fair contest. Some of us have been quite thoroughly taught that we mustn’t post verse.
Comment by Genko — July 9, 2012 @ 9:07 am
@Richard — that was so bad it was good?
Comment by Jenn — July 9, 2012 @ 10:32 am
@Iphinome
The contests are always fair because the winner is chosen randomly not based on skill, talent or lack thereof.
You could just simply post:
paks rode her horse
of course!
🙂
Comment by Iphinome — July 9, 2012 @ 5:00 pm
pray sir we never meet for on that day I shall seek satisfaction
Comment by Richard — July 9, 2012 @ 5:13 pm
Jenn (#16)
Now you’ve given that idea away to the first taker you’ll need another in reserve.
Comment by Jenn — July 9, 2012 @ 5:53 pm
No worries Richard
I am a distant relation to Fezzik