And your head is spinning from a loud guitar

So, yesterday was a day of parts, several distressful.

For those who have missed hearing the news, author Joel Rosenberg has left us, precipitously. More nearly, he leaves his wife of 32 years, and two daughters.

Ben Yallow's mother, Noble Prize winner Dr. Rosalyn Yallow, has died. Con-going folk will know Ben as the Man Behind the Hotel Contracts for many East Coast cons, and WorldCons.

Yet another friend has been diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer.

Summer does not start on Monday, as previously reported, because -- how to put this kindly? -- Admin can't read. Next Monday, for sure.

Here at the Cat Farm, the lights went out at 6 p.m., so Steve and I went for a ride, paused at Mr. P'back in Elm Plaza to sign stock, then continued onward in an Oakland-ish direction, stopping at the Weathervane to take on dinner. A police blockade barred us from going home down the China Road to North Pond Road, the Route of Least Potholes, instead directing us up North Reynolds Road. We arrived at the Cat Farm around 8:30 to find the lights still out. Steve fired up the generator, plugged in the lamp and we took to the couch, with Mozart, who is a big Banichi fan, and read aloud from Invader, until the lights finally came back on, a little after ten.

No hint in today's Sentinel what might have caused the power outage or been the reason for the blockade. I hate that.

Today is declared a Rest Sharon's Head (and Hands) day. My plan is to sit under the red maple in the front yard; just me, a yellow pad, a pen, and a tall glass of ice tea, and plot me out some short stories.

I hope all of you are embarked on a pleasant weekend, and for God's sake, stay healthy, willya?

PSA: Is the eArc “different”?

Some folks have written to ask if the eArc of Ghost Ship “matches” the hardcover book that will very soon now be printed and which will appear on the shelves of your favorite bookstore in August.

After some back-and-forth with one of the correspondents wondering this very thing, it transpires that said correspondent understood that sometimes the finished book “differs” from the eArc and s/he wished to know if that was the case with Ghost Ship.

And the answer is. . .

Yes.

And no.

There are certainly some grammatical/spelling/technical issues that have been addressed in the galley proofing stage of the typeset manuscript from which the book will be printed, which issues appear in their Wild Form in the eArc.

Are there whole scenes excised, new scenes inserted, characters written in, out, or altogether made into mincemeat? In short, is it a Whole ‘Nother Book that will be coming out in August?

Of course not.

The way the process has worked with Baen thus far is:

1. Authors contract to write book; receive advance

2. Authors write book; turning in manuscript ahead, on, or slightly past deadline

3. Editor reads submitted manuscript, points out places where story is broken and/or where action/motivation/characterization needs expansion

4. Authors do necessary repairs; submit amended manuscript

5. Editor acks receipt of amended manuscript

6. D&A check arrives; authors party

7. Some Months Later, editor transmits copy editor queries; authors repair or not, as necessary; book goes to typesetter

8. eArc becomes available. I am not certain that the eArc includes the changes generated in 7, above. Most certainly, it is the amended ‘script acked in 5.

The ‘script in 5? Is the complete novel. Any confusion spotted by the copy editor has thus far, and in our experience, been Important Detail Stuff, not Plot Altering Ohmighods. Plot Altering Ohmighods fall into Toni’s honor.

To sum up: Lee and Miller eArcs contain the Whole Story as it will appear in the printed book. The printed book will certainly contain cleaner copy. What you are buying when you purchase an eArc from Baen is the ability to read the story in a rough, but not the roughest, form five to six whole months before the printed book comes out.

Questions?

Originally published at Sharon Lee, Writer. You can comment here or there.