Today’s image is another from our campsite 2 weeks ago. I’ll be using these pictures all this week, just to give an idea of why we keep going back there and why we like it so much.
Having slept in rather badly on Monday, we had all good intentions of Doing Better on Tuesday. We did Do Better…by all of half an hour! But it’s amazing how much difference just those 30 minutes make.
I already had a wash load ready to go out on the line, and while I hung that out, in a lovely, sunny breeze, another load was already running. I also fed the dog and the birds while the poet pottered about doing things with the campervan (now it’s on the drive, he can!) and washing the crocks. He overdid it again, a bit too early, and had to sit down. But at least he’s resting in between spurts of activity.
First job at my desk was finalising yesterday’s blog post and posting it everywhere. Second job was starting today’s. Third job was the next book on the republishing rota, Wordsworth Short #16, Arrivederci Roma, which was quite straightforward. The assets were already there – the book cover in png and jpg formats and the Word document (converted via LibreOffice). Once I uploaded it to Draft2Digital, I downloaded the epub, the mobi, the pdf and their Word files, and then I uploaded it everywhere else.
That brought me to the end of that batch of publishing, but I went straight into the next batch of four, making the covers in png and jpg formats. I had to locate the images and make sure I had the correct credit information, and I loaded the blank pages into Scrivener to be added to the template material for each story.
I brought the washing in and started the next job, back on with that editing with all the carriage returns that needed removing. Deep joy. While I did that, I also changed the Roman numerals to regular chapter headings, and I inserted page breaks for every new chapter. As I was doing this it occurred to me that this book may have been written on a mobile phone app. That’s more than 100,000 words tapped out on a phone. Pretty amazing, but not very conducive for when a Word file is required so that the designer doesn’t find a load of random corrupt code.
I managed another 40 pages or so and noticed the overall page count was coming down, just by removing all of those superlative carriage returns. But oh, what a chore! I’ll be doing this in my sleep. I finished at 6pm, finalised today’s blog post, and called it a day, choosing instead to go for another gentle walk in the soft sunshine with a still-recuperating poet and the dog.
This post appears on Words Worth Writing, Medium and Patreon.
You should be paid extra for formatting. What an awful job. Well done.
You might have to tie the poet down to the bed to make him rest. Doesn’t sound like he’s following doctor’s orders! “Rest” means NO pottering around.
But I’m glad you’re settling into the house so well.
I usually do a quick format. It’s rare I have to do a complete a thorough format. It’s good, though, once I get into a rhythm.
Yes, I keep reminding him how quickly he wears himself out at the moment, Every. Single. Time. But of course, he knows best! 😉 So long as he’s content and not too bored, though.
Having the dedicated work space is helping a lot, as is having the poet home to keep an eye on the dog for some of the time at least.