Some numbers

47 days walking on crutches
1 day walking in a boot
? days before being able to drive again
3 manuscripts copyedited or proofread in the past two weeks
400 pages (approximately) edited for these clients
42 pages of SAMMIE SHERMAN written as the first draft
42 pages still needing to be revised!

"Catastophe for the apostrophe!"

The abuse of apostrophes is already so great that this is a sad day (as reported by the Associated Press): England's second-largest city has decided to drop apostrophes from all its street signs, saying they're confusing and old-fashioned.

Update

My mobility has been limited by foot surgery a month ago. But it's given me a chance to finish the first draft of my chapter book, now titled SAMMIE SHERMAN AND THE ROTTEN, STINKIN' BROWNIES. I've also finished rebuilding my website, www.secondsetofeyes.com, and I'm very happy with the changes I've made.If you stumble upon this blog, let me know what you think. I can easily make revisions and additions to it.

I also coordinated our school's author visit by Debby Garfinkle, writer of nine published books in the past three years (what an outstanding accomplishment!) Her Supernatural Rubber Chicken series for kids is laugh-out-loud funny, and she was a delight to work with.

Today, I'm working on an edit job for a single mom who's applying to law school. I've been moved to tears by her heartfelt essays, and hope that the minor editing changes I've suggested will improve her application and chances for admission. She's the type of person who should be a lawyer. Our world would be a better place for it.

We recently spent a fun day at a San Diego science museum. Can you spot the typo in the second photo?
And this is such a good exercise. When you read the sentence from the first photo, how many "Fs" can you find? I had to question my copyeditor credentials after getting an "F" myself on this!

Highlights contract!

I received a contract today for my article for Highlights' Gallant Kids feature. It's about a couple of Girl Scouts who made fleece blankets for the seals and sea lions at the Pacific Marine Mammal Center. I don't have any clue when it might be published, but I'm thrilled they accepted it.

A nice surprise from SCBWI conference

I attended a fun Editors' Day today for the Orange County/San Bernardino/Riverside chapters of SCBWI. And I won second place for my new middle grade WIP, MY MOM LOVES ALL THE OTHER BROWNIES MORE THAN ME. It was a complete surprise and will motivate me to work on some new chapters.

New writing job

I'm thrilled to start a new freelance job working for an educational publisher. It's going to be a wonderful opportunity to use both writing and editing skills in a fun, non-fiction format. What's especially nice is that this project targets second and third-graders so my daughter can be my own personal test market. I start tomorrow... I'm so looking forward to it!