Friday 20 October 2023: Ahead of the storm

So I’m back to writing up the blog post in real time and scheduling it to post the next working day. Let’s see how long it lasts…

I updated my word and page count spreadsheets with the projects I decided to keep. Two editing projects for the rest of October and three writing projects. (A writers’ guide and two short stories – the novella is a November writing project, but the planning is happening now.)

I shared the gig list on Facebook and printed off the extra client short edit.

The poet called from the airport and I brought up the flight tracker to keep an eye on things. He wasn’t feeling very well. My stomach chill may have gone to his head before he went on his trip. He was full of cold and trying not to dose himself up too much on cold and flu remedies due to the long drive home from Manchester. His flight was late taking off, but no other delays from what I could see. It started to rain here just as he was due to fly.

My main editing client asked if I could take a third book and asked for an update on the current two, which I gave her. The extra small job has to be back with the client by today but the Vietnam book is going to take the rest of the month. The next book is really well-written. The third book may well be another time-consuming project but as it’s a sequel to one I already edited, I do want to take it.

I finished tidying up my Scrivener file for the writing diaries, deleting all files that don’t apply to this series of books. I created my first chapter template and duplicated it nine more times for now. I don’t know how many chapters the book will run to, but I’m starting with ten. When it was all neat and the OCD was happy, I finished the introduction for the NaNoWriMo writing diary and added in the remaining targets for that on Scrivener.

Every time I finish something I’m giving myself a little treat. Sometimes it’s a cup of tea or a mug of hot chocolate, sometimes it’s a cake, biscuit or sweet, and sometimes it’s a quick game of something. When I finished the introduction, I stepped away from the NaNo, made myself a hot chocolate, and played a quick game of Solitaire.

The new job came in from the client. I thought it was a bit shorter than the first one in this series, and when I checked, it was. Around 25,000 words shorter. So that’s me booked through to the end of February, although I’ll try and do this one sooner as it’s a lower fee with it being a shorter book.

It started to get dark as the storm came in, but before it arrived I refreshed the bird food in the garden, disposing of some that had gone a bit damp and mouldy. A squirrel came and helped itself to a load, but Rufus chased it off.

The poet landed safely, but his flight was 25 minutes late and he was still very tired. He also had the big task of finding his car. But he was on home soil, even if it was on t’other side of t’hill (‘the other side of the hill’, the other side of the Pennines).

I rejigged my diary to accommodate the new completion date my client offered me. I still want to finish it next week if I can, but the pressure’s off until the end of the month, which is great. Now I have to embrace what the client has done and get on with it. That job needs to GO.

I closed down the computer and took the small editing job into the living room away from any distractions.

Today I must return the small job to the client. I also have my tax return to start for 2022/23.

Have a great weekend!