rolanni | Reading the page proofs (Reply)

So, I'm doodling along with the page proofs for Alliance of Equals, which has a nice, long turnaround time of three weeks from time of receipt. For which I am truly grateful, because that gives us time to Pay Really Good Attention to the script and not have to Push On! despite one's brain hurting, and eyes crossing, because Deadline.

So far (I've just finished page 79, or seven chapters, or 22%), it's been pretty clean, but there have been some really strange copy editing decisions made, which has prompted me to keep the submission copy of Alliance open on the screen, so I can double-check stuff, and put it back the way it ought to be, when needed.

One of the strangest decisions was the treatment of master trader in a situation where Shan is trying to decide from which melant'i he ought to approach a knotty social problem. Ought he to come the father? Or ought he speak as master trader?

The copy editor in the above case decided to put master trader in. . .quotes. Mind you, they didn't likewise put father in quotes, which would have been just as wrong but at least consistent. But. . .

Shan does not think of himself as "master trader." Putting master trader in quotes in that particular instance Completely Negates melant'i, as we've built it and refined it over 19 novels and lots of short stories. Shan thinks of himself as Shan. Shan has various life roles assigned to him -- father, master trader, master pilot, brother, lifemate, thodelm -- and so on. These roles, to a Liaden are real, they are, in a peculiar and important way, living. Liadens are, according to their own culture, not one, but many, and this is codified (as distinct from, say, US culture, where we are many, but we pretend that we're not).

Having Shan think of the "master trader" in the instance above is so wrong, that I actually felt a little nauseous, seeing it there.

It's fixed now, but -- phew. Close one.

Moving onward now to making some spaghetti sauce -- we have fresh tomatoes, we have chopped fresh garlic, we have -- wait for it -- mushrooms (mmmmm, mushrooms). Man, this is going to be primo spaghetti sauce.

After lunch, it's back to The Gathering Edge.

How's your weekend going?