The weekend thus far, and other thoughts

[rolanni]

We had planned to go to the ocean this weekend, as part of the Natal Day Celebrations. Unfortunately, Steve is still not quite recovered from the WorldCon Plague, so it seemed best not to expose him to Damply Airs and Humours(tm).

Friday was another out-straight run at the day-job, and I came home brain-dead. A co-worker had kindly baked me a plate of birthday brownies, which I brought home to share with Steve. May I just say? Double-chocolate brownie topped with chocolate-chip-mint ice cream? Heaven.

Even the infusion of Massive Amounts of Sugar was not enough to rally my few remaining brain cells, so I joined Steve in the living room for a marathon read of Girl Genius, he on the couch, I in the blue recliner, with a coon cat on my lap. Mozart admires Miss Agatha immensely, and seems to have a Sloppy Guy Thing going with Dimo, go figure.

Some time in the later evening we roused, much cheered, for dinner and a glass, and so to bed.

Yesterday's focus was Fledgling, which is moving along slowly, what with the number of brain-dead evenings I've been racking up lately. I got a lot of good work done, if I do say so myself, but it's not going to be ready for prime time by tomorrow. I've given up hoping for some quiet days at work so I can actually write at night. And, honestly, if I were first-drafting something, I could still probably press on at night with half-a-brain -- first drafts are full of krezy excidents; it's expected. Second/third drafting, though, that's tiny little stitches and set-in details -- precision work. I don't dare go into that with anything less than full capacity.

Pause while Mozart wanders around my office, calling loudly for Diggi Mao-Mao. I'm not at all sure who Diggi is -- or was -- but Mo looks for him from time to time, very earnestly.

I've been thinking a lot about how to fit all I have to do into the hours of the day and not drive myself into a depression. It had looked like the day-job was going to have to go, as the thing that took up the most time for the least return, after you factor in all those brain-dead evenings. But. Health insurance. Damn, that's a biggie.

The writing...I kept thinking that the writing didn't used to be such a strain, even during those other periods when I had a consecutive day-job. 'Course I was younger then, but...experience does count, and should weigh in the balance.

Then I looked at what we've been doing as writers since I went "back to work."

January 2007: Gloom, doom, destruction. Meisha Merlin has not paid us and is in default of their contracts. We have therefore stopped work on Web... while we scramble to make ends meet. Sharon fortuitously acquires day-job. Fledging goes into weekly serialization.

April 2007: Contract with Baen for Duainfey and Longeye. Contract with Baen's Universe for original Liaden novella, "Misfits."

July 2007: Hand in "Misfits." Fledgling serialization ongoing.

October 2007: Hand in Duainfey. Fledgling declared a draft.

November 2007: Begin writing Longeye

January 2008: Saltation goes into weekly serialization.

June 2008: Hand in Longeye.

July 2008: Begin revising Fledgling. Serialization of Saltation ongoing.

August 2008: WorldCon. Began writing "Shadow Partner" for Yule chapbook.

September 2008: Fledgling revision ongoing. Saltation serialization ongoing.

Deadlines, near and far: Fledgling to Baen September 15 (ahem); story for Yule chapbook to Steve, October 15; Saltation to Baen, December 15; Sequel to Scout's Progress to Baen, June 1, 2009.

...compare that to 2004, 2005, 2006, in which we were contracted to write one book, and maybe a few short stories, and there was no day-job in the equation. Granted, we were working harder on SRM's exposure, but we're still trying to hold line there, now, too.

Jeebers, no wonder I'm tired.

I'm thinking maybe we need to cut back on the writing, here; and hit a balance where we can have health insurance, time enough, and joy, to write, and some little bits of time to Have A Life.

Well...enough philosophizing. I got me some revising to do.


Beginning word count; Fledgling first draft:

97,483 / 100,000 (97.5%)

Fledgling Second Draft:

98,129 / 100,000 (98.1%)

Comments

[amm-me.livejournal.com]

It's just plain WRONG, when you can make a living, and pay your taxes, by writing, that you have to add another job just so you can get insurance.

But as long as that's the system, I guess we can live with a little less in the way of stories. It's been pretty bountiful the last year. Thank you.

and some little bits of time to Have A Life.

[bookmobiler.livejournal.com]

From your mouth to God's ears.

[estara.livejournal.com]

"
Pause while Mozart wanders around my office, calling loudly for Diggi Mao-Mao. I'm not at all sure who Diggi is -- or was -- but Mo looks for him from time to time, very earnestly."


I'm sure he doesn't mean Diggi Mao-Mao, he means Diggi Mo -

the guy with his hair in beads in this pv
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pto0RqScUcs

;D

Just buy him a Soul'd OUT cd...

[mardott.livejournal.com]

Ditto what amm_me said. Here's hoping you can find your balance. You write engaging and delightful books and you should be able to enjoy writing them.

[jonquil.livejournal.com]

I am trying to teach myself that you have to sit down before you fall down, and that you can either put responsibilities down gently or drop them and listen to them shatter.

I wish you more wisdom than I'm achieving!

[elbales]

. . . Wow. I wish there were something your readers could do to help things along, but aside from chipping in for a health insurance fund (HAHAHA oh I'm funny), I cannot think of a single thing besides just continuing to plink our dibs and dabs into the Storytellers' Bowl.

[keristor.livejournal.com]

Actually, chipping in for health insurance was exactly what I was thinking about. However, I have no idea (not even to an order of magnitude) what that costs in the US (I know the UK private health insurance costs generally on the order of tens of pounds per month per person) to know whether that would be at all practical.

(It's a general problem with being freelance, not just writers. If you don't work for a company as a salaried employee then you don't get the company's health cover -- but if you do then the cost of that health cover will likely reduce your salary anyway, and in the UK at least will also be taxed as though it was income. Of course in Europe most people are covered by socialised medicing (via taxes, so you still pay for it if you earn money) so fewer people have private cover, recent figures in the UK indicate around 12%.)

[drammar.livejournal.com]

Great idea, but maybe not so practical. My husband and I are about Sharon and Steve's age, and we've recently investigated private coverage. For a decent policy (read non-HMO, you-get-to-choose-your doctor type of policy) with a reasonable deductible and decent Rx coverage you're looking at about $800-$900 per month for the two of us. And that's assuming the pre-existing conditions clause doesn't kill you in the meantime. The US system is decidedly broken.

[rolanni.livejournal.com]

"Broken" does not begin to do justice to the so-called US health care system.

you're looking at about $800-$900 per month for the two of us

The cost is somewhat higher up here, due to Maine's own peculiar regulatory climate, plus the fact that we are an impoverished, sparsely populated state with an aging population base.

Canada -- so near and yet so far...

[rolanni.livejournal.com]

I am trying to teach myself that you have to sit down before you fall down, and that you can either put responsibilities down gently or drop them and listen to them shatter.

I remember being told as a kid that people wouldn't ask me to do more than I was able and if I couldn't finish the tasks assigned, I was a contemptible slacker.

Which lesson has of course stuck, leading, I make no doubt, directly to where I, um, sway, today.

I wish you more wisdom than I'm achieving!

Wishing us both wisdom!

[rolanni.livejournal.com]

The costs for private health coverage in the US, particularly in Maine, can run upwards of $1200 per month for the two of us, depending on how much we choose to pay out of our own pockets (in addition to the insurance), for such things as doctor's visits, drugs, tests, hospital stays and etc.

We had in the past carried catastrophic insurance, which is (somewhat) cheaper, and paid for everyday medical attention with the ever-popular Insurance by Visa.

I'm older now, and apparently not so brave. And words to express Just Exactly how broken the US "health care system" is simply don't rise to my fingertips...

[6-penny.livejournal.com]

And don't even think about the situation in Massachusetts with the mandated program. If you are really indigent you can get what sounds like a reasonable policy, but have to find a doctor who participates! Assessed payments go up until what the powers that be have decided is their cutoff. Then you are told 'go to Blue Cross, Tufts etc for the approved plans-but you pay at the individual rate, which is of course determined be the age you are, and the costs in the area that you live in. (The reason I can't afford insurance at my age as an individual is still the reason that I can't afford insurance) So I have a whacking big fine to pay at income tax time. Thank You former governor Romney!

[elbales]

I s'pose they could rise to your fingertips but they'd be squelched by the fact that you have Manners.

Stupid health care system. Stupid politicians going on about "health insurance delivery." How about health care delivery, guys?

If I were queen of the world, you'd have it all, ma'am. Including a housekeeper (if you wanted one), and someone to feed you peeled grapes (likewise).

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

I'm impressed with your accomplishments!

I often don't realize how much I'm getting done until I try to list it for someone. There's always such a huge heap of demands that I rarely feel like I'm making headway.

I'm deeply frustrated that so many people are trapped in stultifying jobs, often just for the health care. I see America wasting massive amounts of human resources essentially trying to use a screwdriver to pound nails. When creative people of demonstrated talent have to support themselves with a dayjob that could just as well be done by someone else, it means we get less of the creative output that only they could produce. That deprives the culture of much richness, because we only get them for so many years before they pass away. This frustrates me both as a creative person and as a consumer.

I think cyberfunded creativity helps combat this trend, a little. Health insurance is so obscenely expensive that it's all but impossible to get outside of a company-sponsored package, but at least cyberfunded creativity can help route money directly to writers, artists, etc. from their fans.

[keristor.livejournal.com]

Ouch. That does put it into perspective, I can understand why people can't afford it. Hmm, while we could help it would be difficult to cover that, it's an order of magnitude more than I was thinking.

[kinzel.livejournal.com]

Alas,
left out of the list of doings: there were writing and SRM production stuff like several stories for Dragon Tide back in Fall of 2007, and gee, several conventions attended, and the "saving of the books" run to Meisha Merlin's headquarters and follow-ups to that and they still not-completed search for minions and location ...

sigh

[rolanni.livejournal.com]

We're even more awesome!

[katmoonshaker.livejournal.com]

I wish you both Multitudinous Joy in All Areas of Life, Plenteous Time to Do Everything You Want, The Money to Support Kith, Kin, Selves, and Kats, Scandalously Good Insurance of All Kinds at Ludicrously Cheap Rates, and The Right Place to Write.

Thus have I asked the Deity
And as I ask, pray let it be

[6-penny.livejournal.com]

Definitely awesome.
Despite everything, you guys have posted a terrific chapter.