Down Time

[faustus]

Another deadline hit - a couple of months ago queries about the small amount of royalities over The Pocket Essential Philip K Dick led to the suggestion of a second edition to be released to mark the 25th anniversary of his death. This puts a quid or so on the price, adds a score or so new pages ... and if you're lucky another three thousand words (no, I can't work it out either).

What with little things like three deadlines to hit at the end of October, a date of November 15th seemed insanely optimistic, especially as I only hit two of them. The one I missed was postponed to, you guessed it, November 15, so the second edition got bumped, although I had at least edited the paper manuscript.

Fortunately, I did at least hear that the publisher likes my 80,000 words for the 31 October deadline for the Big Project, and the degree has been signed off. So we began the week on a relative high, and planned to spend all of Tuesday working on PKD. Monday I got to bed about 12.30, so an early night, but Tuesday I found that, like Sunday, it was all but impossible to get up. I woke about 7.15, the usual alarm time, and got up for a dump, and went back to bed. I snoozed to the radio alarm - not exactly sleeping, not exactly listening to the radio - and it was not until Woman's Hour that I finally properly roused myself ...

... To sort out a pile of emails which have been accumulating, and to attempt to sort out the memory stick. But by 1.00pm I was at it, and worked through until 4.00pm and a tax form which needed to be posted on my way to therapy. I txted a mate to say I'd drop in the pub on the way home, and he waylaid me with an offer of dinner so I didn't get home until gone 9pm. The need to make a carrot cake intervened, and another couple of emails so... well here it is and it is done and it is gone 2.30am. And I do need to be up today, dammit.

I'd hoped to get to the novel today, but I might take it to work and look through it in my office hours. I should be alone then. Now there's the little matter of the remaining 80,000 words to write and/or edit on the Big Project - I think by the end of the year - an article for Vector by the end of the month, and two pieces for Canadian collections (8,000 words each, but one of them is written just needs another 3,000 words adding), due in the new year. Of course, with the two Routledge Projects I am booked until the end of 2008. Sheesh.

Tell me again why I can't get out of bed?