Wednesday 29 July 2009

Tempus is Fugiting like mad

I've just signed the first two copies of We Could Possibly Comment for writer friends. At least, I've just signed them in a dream. With, hopefully, just a week or so to go before I receive my allocation of the print run, I expect to be having more similar dreams - and nightmares.
One benefit of the dream, is that it has reminded me that I'll need to slow down when signing. I find it extremely difficult to write slowly which, admittedly, is quite handy for a journalist who only did shorthand for a year at university... a very long time ago. It's a distinct disadvantage, though, when writing greetings cards, letters and envelopes and I frequently mess them up. Methinks a few practice sessions are called for.
That's something else to add to a list that doesn't seem to have got smaller in recent weeks. It's now only about ten days until I head off to The Writers' Summer School at Swanwick, Derbyshire




I've still to finalise work on the Non-fiction course I've been asked to run - I've set myself a deadline of this Friday to have it nailed, apart from some Marketing information.

On the book front, I sent text and some JPegs to a local printer on Monday for flyers and that's still to be finalised. The latest delivery date for the books to the publisher in Leicester (nice to see that my book is highlighted on their bookshop page New and Notable is next Thursday, the 8th, but as that's probably too late to get my copies up to Glasgow in time for Swanwick, hopefully that can be brought forward a couple of days.

There are several other tasks that have to be completed before I disappear off to the peerless Peak District, which means I'll have to devote less time to Facebook (the main culprit behind my lack of blogging in the past couple of weeks) and be very focused.

The clock continues its relentless ticking down.

6 comments:

  1. Practice that autograph assiduously! But watch for writer's cramp. I have carpal tunnel problems, and find that if I write too much (which is just a shade over a few lines) I get pain in my hand. So I think that if I should ever actually be doing a book-signing, I will have to have a ghost-writer, er, ghost-autographer. Or a rubber stamp and a good apology!

    Good luck on completing everything that needs to be completed !

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  2. I somehow don't think I'll be in a situation where I'll be in danger of getting writer's cramp signing books, but you never know
    I do come close to it sometimes when I'm covering an event.
    Don't think people will be too happy with a rubber stamp when your first book-signing takes place.

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  3. I did once have to sign a great many books (this was, needless to say, when I was still quite a successful writer) and, very embarrassingly, I suddenly forgot how to sign my name! Having spoiled a copy of the book I had to excuse myself and go off to the loo in order to practice before doing any more!

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  4. How could you forget to sign your name - did you forget who you were?

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  5. I can well imagine forgetting how to sign my name... all too well, actually (although it hasn't happened to me yet, but then I've not had to sign my name multitudinous times in a row).. I sometimes miss a letter out of my surname, just in normal life... There's something to be said for the sort of signature that looks like a straight line with a bump or two here or there -- who's to know whether you've got it right or not?

    I'm envisioning someone coming into the loo while Brian was in there practicing his signature, and Brian trying to explain...

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  6. And did he practice signing on loo paper?

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