Oh. My. Lord.
I've just received the copy-edited manuscript for "The Weaver & the Factory Maid". They want it back by 11 April. No problem.
Oh, wait, there is a problem. A fairly large one. He's edited an obsolete version of the MS; Ruth Cavin, my publisher, requested changes that work up to about ten pages of additional material, about eight weeks ago. She requested them, I did them, she adored them, and they've never made it into this ms version.
Kill me now.
Oh, and there's also this:
1. He's changed all the UK spellings to American spellings. My Scots musician does NOT live next door to Tony Soprano. Now I have to change them all back again.
2. Far more infuriating? He's changed all the UK voicings. Trying to explain that Brits don't go down TO the pub, they go down the pub.
Oh, kick some ASS!
Don't you have a copy that includes the additional pages without his changes? Can you send it to him, explain what a clueless ass he is and that he'd better not do it again, and ask him to redo it with the appropriate material that had already been provided some time ago?
Deena, he isn't a dumbass on the unincorporated bits; he edited what he was given. I think my publisher got busy and forgot to add the changes. For the rest of it? A wee problem: the damned thing is supposed to go to galleys for an early release.
So I have messages in to both of them saying OK, I think I can print out the current edition and match up every single freakin' printers' instruction but you'd best tell me now.
Oh, and what's with the Noo Yawk paternalistic crapola? My characters are an Englishwoman and a Scotsman.
Wow, that sucks. I wish I could help.
(slamming head metaphorically against desk)
We're talking 75,000 words that will have to be precisely matched. The copy edited obsolete version has all the printers instructions, plus changes to be made. If I end up having to do this, I'm going to have to figure out which of the things I added at Ruth's request answer the questions the copydude (his name is Dan) brought up.
(maybe not so metaphorical slamming, and maybe someone else's head)
Can anyone help you? I could, actually, e-mail it to Greg, he could print it at the library, bring it home to me, and I could do it -- however, I couldn't guarantee I wouldn't make a mistake, and it would probably take me about 48 hours of pretty much working non-stop (guesstimate). If that's what you need, okay, but if I were you, I'd be nervous handing it to me to do.
Deena, the thing is that what's needed is a word-by-word comparison of the two manuscripts, and one of them is hard copy and one is onscreen.
So it's alllllll me.
BWAHAHAH! From my publisher, who finally got word of what was going on:
...you must have gotten one of the least desirable copyeditors -- they're all freelancers, chosen by the production editors, and it's hard to know how they all will work out. The worst one I've had worked on a book of mine called "The Shanghai Murders," and the copyeditor (who usually remains quite anonymous, lost no opporltunity -- in fact, made many -- to let us know that she knew everything there was to know about China, her best friend was Chinese and spoke four dialects including Mandarin, her brother was Chinese (I don't know quite how that came about) and the ms. was full of post-its saying, "No, in China they do it this way.." etc. And then we come to a part in the story where the author says "The corpse was found in an alley behind a popular tourist spot -- the apartment of Dr. Sun Yat Sen" and what does this expert on all things Chinese say on her post it? "Why is a doctor's apartment a tourist spot?"
I lurve my publisher. She rocks the house.
shoot.. I could still do it -- got a fax, but I will stop trying to help and just send you ease and success vibes.
I'm likin' your publisher a lot too.
