I stepped out of the office today, looked down for a moment, and walked straight into a steel window frame. Staggered. Doubled over, disoriented and in pain. Grabbed at a piece of some structure at waist height and hung on for dear life. My sister-in-law came around the side of the building at that very moment:
"You hit your head on the window! Let me put some ice on it!"
So for the next twenty minutes I iced the head, wondering if I had done some serious harm. First I wanted to laugh. Then I wanted to cry. I went back to work but had trouble concentrating. I'd open a file and forget why I was there. Had to be careful with my balance when I stood or walked. Felt - drifty. Weird.
I came home from work, still feeling weepy, shot off an e-mail to the editorial assistant telling her that I'll review the copy and get back to her on Monday. I happened to check that account again an hour later and found her reply. The cover copy for Café au Lait has already been approved and is set to go to production on... Monday morning.
Oops. So I check the time: 4.47. Damn. Isn't the US on daylight saving time now? Does that mean that I have an hour and 13 minutes to turn in my fantastic fusion? Or, heaven forbid, did I miss closing time by... Arrggh! I was never good at this stuff. And the clock is ticking.
My mother steps over the clumps of hair I'm pulling out, sizes up the situation, and recommends that I leave the proposed copy as is. She likes it, but she hasn't read the manuscript! And the friend I passed it by last night? The one who actually read the story? He hates it!
I copy theirs and mine on to Notepad and compare. Ye muses of fusion, whither goeth thou! I fool around with the text for awhile, throw in the towel and send off another e-mail. Go ahead, I tell the lady. Leave it as it is. You have my blessings.
Sigh. And if the quotation at the head of this post isn't quite accurate, remember, I got knocked on the head today.
16 comments:
I hope you feel better!
Oh good grief, you don't need stitches or anything?
Hope you feel better soon.
JJx
My daughter hit her head on the ice and I'm sure she had a mild concussion. You probably did, too.
I guess it was Providence that your cover copy will remain as it is. Don't sweat it.
OUCH! and OUCH again! Hope you're better today. Take some time out for yourself today. Slow down. (Easier said than done, huh?)
I'm sure the copy is fine.
I imagine it is hard letting go of your novel - your baby travelling out in the world alone. Into the hands of readers and others who will make it theirs. You want to make it presentable so that it will be recieved in the best way possible. Make its journey less ardous.
The accident has seemed to push you into the process of letting go as you accept the copy provided in spite of your misgivings!
I think you did the right thing. But please please please take care of yourself honey!
oh! And if your poor head hasn't had enough trouble I have now tagged you! No pressure honey!
Ow you poor thing. From what you say, I think chumplet is right. (about the cover copy too!) Hope your lump is shrinking now.
Sometimes we have to surrender in order to win - or something like that - Gregory David Roberts
Don't worry too much about the head thing; it will soon be replaced with another pain :)
BTW, I liked the picture on this blog post :))
Nyc/caribbean, thank you. I feel fine now.
JJ, no stitches, thank goodness.
Chumplet, I'm sure there was some sort of concussion. And I have a feeling you're on target re Providence. I'm not stressing about it anymore.
Pacha, yes, much easier said... I didn't think of it at the time, but you're right about the letting go. What happened on Friday made me realize it's now out of my hands, and it's such a relief to finally let go. Thanks for the caution - I tend to be somewhat accident prone. Always dreaming, my teachers used to complain.
Thanks for tagging me, I think! I suspect it's the same meme that Kaz tagged me with, so I get to kill two birds with one stone! Off to see...
Thanks, Zinnia. Wasn't much of a lump. It felt so awful I thought my skull was bashed, but happily, there's little to show now.
akalol, I must take note of that quote. I should know by know that being a control freak just won't work. As for the replacement for the head pain: there's always a pain in the posterior waiting in the wings for when I get complacent...
And the pic! That's exactly how I felt on Friday! :)
You'll get your way for re-prints. Your book will be so wildly popular they will be, "Oh yes Liane, tell us what to do."
Your window incident reminds me of an Ellen Degeneres bit where she makes fun of how we make jokes when we hurt ourselves, "Oh I didn't know that was a door there. Is that blood? Oh, ha ha, look at that, I'm bleeding."
I'm glad you didn't get a concussion, I was worried it was headed that way for a moment.
I love the internet -- found the Ellen thing on you tube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMonHyxnztI&feature=related
I'll post it on my blog too -- looks like it's too long to paste in comments, but I'll try.
I wouldn't worry. The cover copy is for people who haven't read the book anyway, so it's good that those who haven't like it. Right?
Heal quickly!
Kim, 'wildly popular'? Oh man. What a pretty thought. That laughing at your injuries syndrome is me, all right. I always have to convince everyone that I'm fine - no matter what! I'll hop over to your blog to see the Ellen vid. Thanks!
Matt, I guess you have a point there. They've got to be induced to pick the book up or it won't get read. Healing nicely, thank you.
Ouch! Hope you're OK now.
I get confused with the time changes in the UK let alone different times zones elsewhere. I once had to deal with solicitors in Australia when my sister died, so I bought a cheap twenty four hour clock and set it to their time. Saved a lot of brain ache.
I'm fine now, Graeme. That's a creative solution to the time zone problem. I'll keep it in mind.
Post a Comment