August 2008 Archives

This blog is not about politics. It's about survivorship, and it will be short.

Ted Kennedy is a survivor. He has lost family members under tragic circumstances, has seen one son battle bone cancer, a daughter battle lung cancer, another son battle drug addiction. He has broken his back in a plane crash, and lives with the guilt of driving the car in which a young woman died, an accident that derailed his greatest political dreams. But he keeps coming back ...

I've put it off too long. My assistant and I need new computers. Our current ones, which we've had for a combined total of twelve years, are old, overloaded, and slow. Technology has moved ahead, along with our own needs, especially when it comes to website machinations.

But I've put it off, put it off. To me, there is nothing more stressful than getting a new computer. My stomach churns. I break out in a cold sweat. I'm convinced that I'll LOSE IMPORTANT INFORMATION - lose it FOREVER, and that I won't be able to pay bills, much less write ...

You don't want to know.

Actually, you do, if you're reading this, so let me explain.

The copy-editor is the person who reads my manuscript after my editor and I are completely done with it. She (perhaps he, but this time around it's a she, so I'll use the feminine) reads through every word with an eagle eye for inconsistencies. She doesn't smooth out wording; my editor and I have done that at an earlier stage. Rather, the copy-editor makes sure that if John Doe has brown hair in Chapter One, it remains brown throughout the manuscript. Same with eye color and the spelling of a name.

A copy-edited manuscript can be an author's nightmare ...

Wow. I have to tell you; my publisher gets it right. I'm talking about the cover for my latest book, While My Sister Sleeps, which goes on sale on February 17, 2009. Some books have an obvious cover angle (think mom and baby in Family Tree). While My Sister Sleeps had no obvious angle. I'm sure there were brainstorming sessions aplenty within the art department at Doubleday, and a first photo shoot was done. The proposed cover was sent to my agent and me. Neither of us felt that it worked.

This may answer a question many of you ask. Do I design my own covers and, if not, how much input do I have?