How do you keep track of your edits?

I sit down to edit and I have to remember, where did I save my latest copy to SPKG?  I pull out my three USBs or flashdrives – I’m not even sure what to call them.  Remember when ATMs first came out?  I called them “cashflow” machines.  That’s what my bank called them.  It sounded more normal than “ATM” but no one says “cashflow” anymore.  Does anyone call them “flashdrives”? Are they known exclusively as “USBs”?

My USBs are old.  One only has 128 MB.  That’s the dark ages.  Another one has 1 GB and the other has 2 GB.  Even those seem outdated compared to the amount of memory offered now.  So when I do a major edit on SPKG, I rotate my USBs and even computers.  First edit, desktop. Second edit, laptop. Third edit, my oldest USB. And so on.  But that got too complicated.  It’s much easier to just save it to the same USB.

I feel like I’m doing this wrong.  I have to remember – where did I save it last?  I check the properties to see which version was saved last since I have forgotten.  There has to be a better way.

So what do you do?  Always save over your original copy or do you change the name after an edit.  Do you save it in different places or always the same place?  

Karen Bessey Pease author of Grumble Bluff Interview

I stated reading Karen Bessay Pease’s Grumble Bluff on Slush Pile Reader and

Authonomy, two on-line sites, and finished reading it after it was published.

Karen was generous enough to let me ask her a few questions.

KJ Kron:  You really pulled me into your story when the bullies of the school

target Katherine, who is overweight.  How did your idea?  

Karen Bessey Pease:  I think every writer pulls stories from their observations and experiences.  When I sat down to write Grumble Bluff, all I had in mind to write was a simple story which might entertain-- and provide ‘life lessons’ for--my daughter, who was eleven years old at the time.  In all honesty, I didn’t know where it would take me, and I didn’t have a plan.  Each evening over the course of two weeks, I added a bit more to the story.  As I wrote, I recalled my own upbringing in the beautiful forested mountains of Maine.  I called upon the memories of the years I spent roaming the hills and valleys with my friend Patty, to whom Grumble is dedicated.  I thought a lot about friendship, and family, and about the trials of growing up.  Grumble Bluff is the story which emerged as I wrote for a young girl who was the same age I was when I first met my best friend thirty-nine years ago.

KJK:  How serious of a problem do you think bullying is today?

KBP: I don’t believe the inherent nature of human beings changes.  Nowadays, folks are better educated about issues such as discrimination and tolerance, sure.  But bullying has been a part of our lives for as long as we have had a societal existence.  Chickens aren’t the only creatures who feel the need to establish a pecking order when they are sharing the same space.  :o)

However, contrary to what many people believe, it is often the bully who suffers from the least amount of self-confidence, or who deserves the most sympathy.  Aggression is sometimes the symptom of serious problems in a bully’s private life.  All is not black and white, and learning how to deal with other personalities can be very challenging for developing children.  As the tag line for Grumble Bluff says, “Growing up is tough.”  But I came to realize something else as I wrote this novel, and it’s summarized in the rest of that tag line.  “Growing up is tough.  Katherine Anne and Greta are tougher.  Discover the awesome power of friendship in Grumble Bluff.”   When two people click, magic happens.  I’m lucky enough to know that, first-hand.

KJK: Greta is another target for the bullies.  How would you contrast her

personality / situation with Katherine?

KBP: Greta was the ‘new kid in town’.  In the best of circumstances, it is challenging for a child to have to make new friends.  In Greta’s case, she had an additional obstacle.  She had to overcome the ignorance and fear of a community which hadn’t had to confront the illness of HIV/AIDS before her family’s arrival in rural Maine.

KJK:  Is Grumble Bluff close to where you live?

KBP: The fictitious ‘place’ of Grumble Bluff was inspired by a quiet and tranquil spot here on The F.A.R.M., my 70 acre homestead in Lexington Township.  Originally, my husband and I purchased 50 acres when we bought this abandoned and ramshackle farmhouse.  A few years later, we were able to purchase an abutting parcel on the back side of our acreage.  Pease Brook (named after an ancestor of my husband’s, we later discovered) winds through a ravine which is surrounded by mature and verdant forest.  Since the piece of ground was ‘land-locked’ (meaning no deeded ‘right of way’ existed connecting it to a public access point) the trees had not been harvested for generations.  It’s as close to an ancient, pristine forest as we can get, nowadays.

KJK: What do you feel is more important to Katherine, Grumble Bluff or Greta?

  

KBP: Wow.  What a question!  Grumble Bluff is a place of solace for Katherine Anne, and has always been a sanctuary where she could go to think, and feel, and heal.  The Bluff is an intricate part of her life.  However, Katherine Anne’s life changed—dramatically and for the better—once she befriended Greta. I hope she’ll never have to choose between the two, but I’m pretty sure Greta would win in any contest! 

KJK:  I read on your blog a post about windmills.  Are windmills threatening to

go up in / near Grumble Bluff?

KBP:  May I say “Wow” twice in the same interview?  Heh… Around these parts, folks know enough not to mention the topic of mountaintop industrial wind to me unless they have a day or two to sit and ‘jaw’.   Yes, grid-scale wind facilities are threatening the wilderness and mountains all around my home, here near the Bigelow Preserve and the Appalachian Trail.  When I first began to study this issue, I had no idea the scope and scale of Maine’s Wind Energy Plan, nor did I know that the arguments used to promote it were based on misinformation.  I thought, like many people, that ‘wind’ must be ‘green’ and good, and that it would counter the effects of global warming and reduce our dependence on fossils fuels.    After doing some independent investigation, I knew that wasn’t the case.  And when I decided to oppose the Highland project (proposed for five mountains in a neighboring Plantation) this issue wasn’t quite so ‘personal’.  I was being an ‘active citizen’ because after all my research, I believed it was the right thing to do.  But now… this rural area has been targeted by no less than four wind developers, and the closest proposed project will be directly behind my home.  Even more challenging-- the corporation proposing it is the biggest ‘wind’ developer in the world.  It’s a daunting task, but I’ve been amazed at the groundswell of citizens who are getting educated and stepping forward to protect Maine’s renowned “Quality of Place’.  (Aren’t you glad you asked THAT question?  Sorry, pal.  I can’t help myself!)

KJK:  Maybe that can be another plot in a future book.  Any way, how long have you been working on Grumble Bluff and the series?

KBP: As I said, Grumble was written during the evenings over the course of two weeks.  I’ve completed two sequels, and each took a similar amount of time.  However, with the second and third, I had an editor-- who made my life quite… interesting.  Heh… he’s now my best friend; and he taught me a lot about how to graciously take criticism.  He’s also made me (I believe) a better writer.

KJK: I first read your book on authonomy when you got an agent or was it a

publisher?  Did that lead to your publication?

KBP: Grumble Bluff was actually published by a small, new publisher a month before I put it up on Authonomy.  My marketing coach suggested the site, because she believed the novel had the potential to attract a larger, more established publisher.  And within days, I was offered a representation contract by Bonomi Associates in London.  However, after presenting Grumble to 13 publishing houses in Britain, they weren’t able to get a more lucrative offer for the novel.  Nonetheless, I was very flattered and grateful to have a reputable agent ‘pick me up’.  Such things give a gal a little confidence!

KJK:  I read a little more of your book on Slush Pile reader.  How would you

contrast SPR with authonomy?

KBP: The two sites are worlds apart.  I stayed with Authonomy for awhile, even after my agent asked me to make Grumble ‘private’.  I thought maybe I could help other writers by offering suggestions about their manuscripts.  But—and this is just my opinion—I didn’t like the environment very much.  Manuscripts were being ‘backed’ as favors, or as swaps.  Books were advancing to the top which didn’t seem to be nearly as well written as others authored by people who refused to ‘play the game’.  So, while I made some great friend on the site, I decided that it was not a good expenditure of my time and effort to offer honest comments when all that really seemed to be desired was a ‘spot on the shelf’.

 

Slush Pile Reader is different.  The owners of the site have worked hard to avoid the mistakes made on Authonomy.  There is less pressure for writers on the site, and not so much personal drama.  The people there genuinely seem to want to improve their writing styles and techniques.  Over the course of the last year, I know I’ve learned a lot from the other authors at SPR.  And by the way… I’d like to congratulate you again for making it to the top of the Slush Pile!  St. Peter Killed God is a worthy manuscript, and I’m very happy for you. 

KJK:  Is your book available as an e-book?  If not, any plans to make it

happen?

KBP: No, it isn’t.  And yes, it’s an option- but one I haven’t taken advantage of.  Not yet.  To be honest, I’m in a bit of a quandary.  My lifelong dream has been to be a published (and successful) author.  And finally, I’ve been granted a chance to fulfill that dream.  But my writing (and marketing) has taken a back seat for the last few months as I’ve thrown myself into this citizens’ movement.  This is not the direction I ever expected my life to take, but I made a choice to fight for something I believe in and I feel obligated to stay involved until it’s over, one way or another.  I believe that Grumble Bluff and its sequels have an enduring quality, and that they will ‘speak’ to people tomorrow as well as today.  Life is full of surprises and unexpected turns, and I know that this effort I’ve dedicated myself to will prove to be a blessing.  I only hope I’m not too exhausted at the end of it to pick up a pen (or tap at a keyboard) again!   Thank you, Karl, for the honor of participating in this interview, and for opportunity to talk about my story of friendship.

KJK: I completely enjoyed Grumble Bluff.  You have a knack for pulling the

reader in and getting me to root for the underdog.  It was a roller coaster of

emotions.  Well done.  If you have a chance you should read this book.

Why Can't Life Have a Pause Button

I wish I could get the “young” Karl to do some of the things the “current” Karl needs to do.  I envy my former self. That youthful guy of years past would be bored looking for things to do.  If only he could baby sit – he’d have plenty of time.  I’d even let him watch Dancing with the Stars with my wife.  I’d really like it if he could grade papers, but he wouldn’t know how.  Maybe he could read Saint Peter Killed God and scan it for errors. 

I’m jealous of people who have time to write.  In the past, I searched for jobs where I could write as much as I wanted.  I volunteered at a drug rehab for juvenile delinquents.  All I had to do is listen to teens read for one hour, play basketball with them for another hour, and drive them to AA meetings.  That’s it.  Plenty of time to write or read.  I took another job working overnight at a psych hospital.  For four years I had about five hours or so per night where I could write.  I only needed to do a couple of hours of work per shift.  And twice I went part-time as a teacher.  Every other day off.  Every weekend was a three-day week. Now that’s the life.  Of course I used that time to write SPKG.

Right now, I’ve never been busier.  My baby is coming up on his first birthday and crawling around. My back aches as I’m constantly picking him up.  Man, why did I wait until I was 42 to have my first baby?  When Xavier goes to bed at seven, I’ve got papers to grade.  OK, here’s a stupid thing I did – in the 10^th grade, students have to write a research paper to prepare for the big on in the 11^th grade.  I assigned the one I always do, but this year I’m teaching the biology track students (it’s our high school’s forte) and they have to do a biology research paper.  So now I have to grade back-to-back research papers two months apart.  Ugh!

Which gets me to where I am in the editing process.  I’m almost done.  I have to do a few micro edits – mainly about the musical allusions I’ve added.  Johanna has given me good advice about not needing to mention the groups – and in some places I don’t even need to name the song if the lyrics are familiar enough.  Then I need to go through and read the entire thing to make sure it’s to my satisfaction.  After that Johanna is going to look at it again.  I can’t believe I’m so close – and I hope SPR doesn’t get too mad that I’m not doing this a little faster.  After this weekend, I should be finished grading the research papers and ready to tackle the edits. 

Have you ever seen the movie Click?  I don’t understand why the Adam Sandler character always pressed the fast-forward button.  I’d hit the pause button and try to catch up.

Who Not to Follow on Twitter

 I teach at Osbourn Park High School.

Osbourn High School is just two miles away.  You would think that they could 
come up with more original names.  I guess Osbourn was a very important person 
in this area. 

A couple of years ago, a teacher at Osbourn named Karl died of a heart attack 
while teaching.  As the story broke on the news, my friends’ wife pulled over 
her car crying because she thought it was me.  
 
That’s touching.  Thank god that didn’t happen to me, although I once passed out 
in front of my class (I had forgotten to eat breakfast that day.  When it 
happened, my students thought I was joking).  It sounds like a horrible way to 
go though.  In front of your students?  Sad.  I can’t help wondering if his 
students thought he was joking too.
 
This summer, another teacher at Osbourn got fired after getting students drunk 
and taking advantage of them. Horrible story. I credit Osbourn for being the 
school that finally caught him.  He’d been doing it for 20 years 
bouncing from school to school until he was finally caught. This teacher was 
friends with many of his students on Facebook and followed others on Twitter.  
We’re told not to friend our students on Facebook.  It seems pretty obvious, but 
every year a couple of students send me friend requests.  I politely refuse.  

So when I took my students to the computer lab and heard, “Google Kronlage,” I 
cringed.

Would Facebook come up?  My Twitter account?  Would I get a barrage of friend 
requests the next day?  I tried to think of something intelligent to say, don’t 
you have anything better to do than Google your teacher, but said something 
like, “The paragraphs are due at the end of class.  Until I get yours…”

“Mr. Kronlage, you wrote a book!”

“Are you sure that’s not the Mr. Kronlage that teaches at Osbourn?” I asked.

“Very funny.  What’s it called? You never told us that you wrote a book.”

“Of course I did.  Don’t you remember when I told you about my first book, 
Pinkie System.”

“This one’s called Saint Peter Killed God,” another student called out.

We are not supposed to preach to our students.  When I bring up the rumors 
surrounding Psalm 46 in the King James Bible and Shakespeare, one of my students 
usually complains that I'm teaching religion.  That’s not preaching, but my book 
does.  I could imagine my student’s parents complaining about how Mr. Kronlage 
is promoting his book in class, etc.

I looked over one of my student’s should and saw that he found my interview in 
the school paper, which now posts our newspaper online.  What do you say when 
half of your 32 students are suddenly looking up your interview?  Before words 
came to my mouth, I hear, “So you’re KJ Kron?”

“Look, he has a Twitter account and a blog.  Too bad the school blocks it.”

“Yeah, but according to this interview he feels awkward about having a Twitter 
account.”  

So now they’re reading Slush Pile Reader.  I notice a couple of students pulling 
up Saint Peter Killed God on SPR and Authonomy.  “Is your book any good?”

“It’s the best one I wrote,” I said.  “But I’m not sure what you’d think of it.  
After reading 1984 and Brave New World, how can my book compare?”

“I hated those books Mr. Kronlage.”  

I tried.

I teach pre-AP students.  Most of them are in sports or some after school 
activity.  They have a couple hours of homework a night.  They text or play a 
video game whenever they get a free moment.  I doubt they have a lot of extra 
time.

My fears were unfounded.  I’m sure they forgot about my book shortly after the 
bell rang.  Only one student decided to follow me on Twitter.  When I looked at 
his tweets, he tweeted something disparaging about his math teacher. 

I usually follow people who follow me on Twitter, except for some porn site that 
decided to follow me.  And now I’m not following my students either.  After all, I’m 
not like that former teacher at Osbourn. 


To read OPHS article about KJ Kron, click the link below:

http://my.hsj.org/schools/newspaper/tabid/100/view/frontpage/schoolid/3512/articleid/414866/kronlages_fiction_novel_gets__published.aspx

Remix - An Interview with Lexi Revellian

I first read Lexi Revellian's Remix on Authonomy and then on Slush Pile Reader.  I found the first chapter so intriguing that I bought the book once I found out it was released and I was glad I did.  Remix remains entertaining throughout.  Caz, the narrator, is so trusting and gets in so far over her head that you can't help but root for her as she finds herself deeper and deeper in a murder mystery.  At times this is funny and at times it gets suspenseful.  It was as entertaining as Janet Evanovich (that is until I read too much of her).  I was happy when Lexi Revellian agreed to answer my questions here. I also posted the second part of her interview (mainly on editing and marketing her book) on Slush Pile Readers ( http://blog.slushpilereader.com/)

KJ Kron: You really hooked me with your opening scene. Where did you get that idea?

Lexi: The scene where Caz takes her breakfast on to her rooftop and finds a stranger asleep was the what if seed of the book; it just popped into my head. Everything grew from there. I rewrote the first page or two so many times – in the end I sent it to Ray Rhamey’s Flogging the Quill, and got advice which enabled me to see it with fresh eyes.

KJ: The group “The Voices In My Head” harkened me back to the first album I ever bought, the Police's Zenyatta Mondatta. Did you come up with the group’s name from that song? If not, where?

Lexi: No, it wasn’t The Police, but a chance remark of my daughter’s. She said if she had a band, she’d call it The Voices In My Head, so that when someone said, “What are you listening to?” the answer would be, “The voices in my head.” I’d just started notes for Remix, and asked if I could have it. I remember vividly where that conversation took place. My daughter’s forgotten it.

KJ: What style of music do you like and does it match up with what you imagine the “Voices” sounding like?

Lexi: I have eclectic musical tastes. Favourite tracks right now: Fast Fuse by Kasabian, Urgent by Foreigner, Let’s Go All the Way by Sly Fox. Ric Kealey is my ideal of an archetypal rock star, so I know his music would be up my street.

KJ: You write with authority about the music scene and making rocking horses. Where did you get your background information?

Lexi: I researched the music scene on the internet. I got really interested in it. The web is a fantastic resource for writers – how did people manage before? Restoring rocking horses is a hobby of mine, put on hold for the moment while I write. But I’ll get back to it. I’ve never had a horse as splendid as Saladin, alas. The best Ayres horses are fantastic; I own one, the smallest size they made, called Tadpole. He has the usual beautifully-carved head.

KJ: You have so many suspects that you kept me turning the pages (or should I say tapping my Kindle’s next page button). I was just dying to find out what was going to happen next. I’m curious, what types of books do you like and who are your favorite mystery authors?

Lexi: I’m flattered you say that (and a little disbelieving)! There aren’t that many suspects…

I don’t read mysteries much. The authors Caz reads to research how to be a detective, like Raymond Chandler and Dick Francis, are those I’ve read. The problem with mysteries is the number of suspects needed to confound the reader, so that in the final chapter, when the sleuth assembles everyone, one has no idea who did it. This hampers realistic characterization. With Agatha Christie, I don’t care who did it and a month later can’t remember either.

My favourite authors are Mary Renault and Jane Austen, but there are lots of others I love, too many to list. When I was younger I read three or four books a week.

KJ: You have a host of interesting characters, including one that was violent and unpredictable. Did you base your characters on people you know from real life or are they complete creations from your imagination? 

Lexi: Almost all my characters come from developing aspects of me, though some traits I borrow from people I know. For instance, Ric is a bit like my daughter in some ways – he’s very fit, climbs and eats a lot of chocolate digestives. I know it’s a terrible cliché, but characters do grow and become wilful as you write about them. Then they influence you…I swear a lot more since writing Ric and Jeff.

Perhaps if one were entirely well-balanced it would not be possible to write fiction? It may be an asset to be interestingly conflicted with the odd dark corner here and there.

KJ: I really love how Caz is a fish out of water. Trying to figure out a case without any experience. How would you describe her – strengths and weaknesses, that type of thing?

Lexi: I wanted a narrator who was intelligent and a little naïve, like Cassandra in I Capture the Castle. Caz is kind and resourceful with a nice sense of humour, and knows she is useless at telling lies. One reviewer liked that she is a happy person, and I think that’s true.

KJ: I first read your book on Authonomy and then again on Slush Pile Reader. What was your experience like on those on-line sites?

Lexi: I was lucky to be on Authonomy right from beta days, when it was a delightful site. I absolutely loved it, and was sad when it all went so wrong. The best thing about Authonomy, apart from some of the members, was the genuinely enthusiastic response I got from readers of Remix. They were hugely encouraging, and confirmed my belief (mistaken, as it happened) that I’d written a book mainstream publishers would want. Publishers have different criteria from readers.

I’ve been neglecting Slush Pile Reader since I self-published, which is a shame as it’s a good site. Remix was at number four in the chart when I last looked. There isn’t enough time…

KJ: I just loved your book. I’ve paid full price for many a book that was not nearly as entertaining as yours. Yet, I have seen that you’ve come down in price to just 99 cents. What motivated you to drop the cost when it would be a steal at ten times that price?

Lexi: I’m an unknown writer; I want to establish a readership, and the book just wasn’t selling at a higher price. Readers are reluctant to try authors they have never heard of, never seen in a bookstore. A low price encourages them to give me a chance. I lowered the price on the advice of Eric Christopherson (author of Crack-Up). To date, I’ve sold over 17,500 copies for Kindle.

I’m wondering whether to charge more for my next novel, Unofficial Girl. Tricky decision.

KJ: So tell me about Unofficial Girl.  Is it under contract or do you plan to post it on Slush Pile Reader or Authonomy?

LR: Unofficial Girl is about Beth Chandler, who works in a government research institute, and is accidentally replicated. The replica has no official existence, and when she overhears plans to experiment on her she goes on the run in what she stands up in. Meanwhile, the original Beth is unaware of what has happened, and becomes romantically involved with the spec op she believes is there to protect her; in fact, he's hunting Beth 2.

As soon as UG is ready, I plan to publish on Amazon for Kindle, and maybe produce a paperback. I'll send it to a couple of agents who asked to read my next book, but I'm not going through the whole submissions thing again - I reckon it's a waste of time unless one's book resembles a surprise hit of last year :o)

KJ: Thanks for the interview and I'm looking forward to Unofficial Girl's release. To read the rest of this interview, go to:  http://blog.slushpilereader.com/

KJ Kron Interviewed about the Editing Process at SPR

Q: Once your book was selected on Slush Pile Reader, how did they edit your

book?

A: They asked me to send them a file with the entire manuscript on it. They
wanted it in one file from beginning to end. I think they gave me several
choices but I sent it as a word document saved as a Rich Text Format.

Q: How long did it take for them to finish the edits?

A: I’m not entirely sure because it was the end of the grading period. I was
busy. The day I opened the email with the edits I had a stack of essays I
needed to grade by the following day. Imagine – you want to read what they
suggest yet you have to work to do. Terrible temptation.

Q: So what did they send you?

A: Slush Pile Reader sent me two files. The first was a basic overview of the
entire novel and what they wanted done. The second was a file with all the edits
and notes on the manuscript. It was and Adobe document. I’m not too savvy with
Adobe documents. I couldn’t manipulate it. Maybe Slush Pile Reader wanted me
to send the original as an Adobe file.

Q: If you can’t make changes on the Adobe file, how do you edit it?

A: Well first, I wouldn’t want to edit the Adobe file. There’s handwriting on
it – it’s not meant to be edited. What I did was I had my desktop computer on
with the Adobe file and my laptop opened to the word file and I go from one to
the other.

Q: How well was it edited?

A: They did an excellent job. I had my manuscript edited by CreateSpace – just
a brush up type of thing to make sure the grammar was correct. It ended up
costing over a thousand bucks. Johanna, of Slush Pile Reader, found errors that
CreateSpace missed. But she didn’t do just a micro edit; she also did a macro
edit. I believe CreateSpace charges 1,500 to 2,000 dollars for something like
that. When I’m done, she’s going to go through it again. I imagine that she’ll
end up putting about three to five thousands dollars worth of work into Saint
Peter Killed God. And for that I’m extremely grateful.

Q: How much of the manuscript is marked up – lot or a little?

A: There’s more at the beginning because the beginning needed more work.
There’s not too much, probably because I used Createspace. But Createspace
failed to do a few things. For instance, they said they changed all the “Pete”s
to “Peter” and all the “Steven”s to “Steve”s – and guess what Johanna found?
Damn Createspace.

Q: Are you mad at Createspace – or Johanna for any of the changes they’ve
suggested.

A: Johanna – definitely not. A writer needs a strange personality. You have to
be cocky enough to write in the first place. It’s pretty narcissist to actually
think that we are writing important enough stories that other people should read
them. At the same time, a writer needs to be insecure enough to accept
criticism if they want to get published. This odd mix of self-confidence and
lack of confidence is what I believe makes a publishable author.

As far as CreateSpace, I am still glad I used them. My manuscript was OK
without the polish, but they made it good enough to post and do well at SPR.

Q: What editing advice is the hardest to do that Johanna suggested?

A: The typos, deletions – little micro things are very easy. The big picture

stuff is a little harder but not too bad. One thing she wants me to do is add

more music. That’s not too big of a deal, but I have to find places where it

works and that takes some time. I think the hardest part is the thought – will

it ever be done?

Q: How long do you think the whole editing process will take?

A: I’m not sure. It took maybe a month for the first batch.. If I didn’t have

a job, I could have probably done it in a week. In way it’s better that it took

longer so I can think about the changes that need to be made before I made them.

But it’s like this, you plug up ten holes and then four more pop up. Plug up

those four and two more appear. In other words, it’s still not done. I have a

few more leaks that need to be plugged up.

SPR told me that they’d like to have the book ready to be released four months

after offering the contract. That means I can’t waste time – I need to edit it

now. I’m hoping it doesn’t take too much longer.

Does Listening to Audio Books Count as Reading?

I had a good rhythm going.  It’s pretty sad – between working and taking care of Xavier, the only time I could edit was between 7 and 9 at night.  Thank god Xavier goes to bed early.  A snow day here and a holiday there, and I was able to finish most of the editing pretty quickly. Just have to make a sermon chapter or two consistent with the others, change a song, and check on a few other things.  I’d say I could finish in just a few days.  So what happened?

Research papers.

The worst thing about teaching – grading.  The worst kind of grading – essays. The worst kind of essays – research.  I should finish grading those this weekend.  Until then, I’m off the grid.

So how can I read if I don’t have enough time to edit?

Audio books.  Wait, does that count as reading?

Driving to and from work gives me an hour a day to listen.  Not to mention catching a few minutes of a book here and there while cleaning, cooking, etc.

I’ve listened to a few lately that I really enjoy.

1.       The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz.  No wonder why this one the Pulitzer prize.  The mix of slang and sophisticated words makes this very funny.  Plus I didn’t know much about the Dominican Republic’s Trujillo and the secret behind Kennedy’s assassination.  And the reader is fantastic.

2.       The Know it All by A.J. Jacobs.  It doesn’t seem like a book about trying to read the entire encyclopedia would be very funny, but it is.  Good reader.

3.       The Lost Gospel of Judas by Bart Ehrman.  OK, if you’ve looked at St Peter Killed God, you should know I’d be into this type of book.  I was surprised how easy listening to this book was.  The narrator was a little snide / cocky, but for some reason that made it even better.

Hopefully by the next post, I’ll be caught up and finished most of the editing.