triangleareafreelancers.org Blog

Revisions Over Wine

On Sunday, Barton and I spent the afternoon revising a book proposal that we are sending to a publisher in New York. The weather was so gorgeous that we broke out a bottle of wine and sat on the back porch to read the entire fifty-page book proposal aloud to each other including headings, subheadings and footnotes. While my husband read from his computer, I read from a hard copy attached to a clipboard, and we would switch reading after each section or a few paragraphs.

Why would we do such a thing? Well, first of all, it was fun. Of course we are two Creative Writing majors, so any chance to read poetry or stories provides an opportunity to enjoy the texture of language. We poured over the words and how they weaved the story together.

Reading aloud also gave us time to weed out misspellings, forgotten words, inconsistent tenses and awkward phrases. We were able to collaborate together in a new way- do we really need a comma here? This word sticks out. That sentence just doesn’t sound right. What if we…

Cleaning up grammar is my husband’s forte, but here, we both active participants in the revision process.

We read over pizza and wine, now taking turns so the other one could eat. We read late into the night, the flicker of citronella candles slowing the pace just slightly. I admit, my night-sight is starting to fade so typing changes on Barton’s computer did take some concentration, as I was hunting for letters in the soft light.

Only when we had finished did we realize how late it was. Feeling like we had done the best we could, we zipped the revision to our contact in New York. What an incredible afternoon!

Where the *BLEEP* are My Files?!?!

Sunday morning I wake early from sleep, dreaming of the interviews on Monday morning. Or was it today? No, I’m sure it was Monday. A wave of uncertainty washes over. I hit the power button to my computer and go to feed our black lab who is whining to eat. When I return, the computer screen is black. I push the power button again. Nothing. I push the power button five more times hoping that the same action will yield a different result. 7am. My husband wakes up to a blood-curling scream.“My computer crashed! It crashed! And I have an interview tomorrow morning!!!!” I didn’t write down specifics since they were all in an e-mail from my editor, who is also out of town for the next week. Where do I go? What time? Monday 9am. I think. Maybe. Where? A church in North Raleigh. Calling Best Buy, we find out they open at 10am. Calming down, I keep myself busy, make breakfast, take a shower, get dressed. 9:45 am we arrive at Best Buy, along with another 50 people holding tickets to be the first to buy the Wii. At this point, I don’t even know what Wii is, looking at the picture of a guitar on someone’s ticket. Already people in line are complaining. Once making it into the store, a man pushes ahead of us in line. Barton bellow, “Excuse me!” Feeling guilty, the man backs off and insists we go ahead. The manager of the Geek Squad reads all the regulations for a 4-day information transfer, but she’ll push it ahead this afternoon.

When we come home, I am already scheming backup plans. I call our great mentor Don, who suggests I call the paper through out the afternoon. Barton and I spend several hours looking at churches in north Raleigh- is it that one? No, that’s too far out; it’s this one over here.

2:45pm I call Best Buy- taking over thirty minutes of recorded voices and being on hold to be told they can’t find the manager. I just can’t stand it anymore. I rush back down to the store trying not to mow down the gobs of people buying Christmas gifts. Finally, the tech. staff hands me a disk of retrieved files. They have to ship the computer out- for now, it remains dead.

8pm Barton and I stare at the computer screen of his old computer. First, the set up, creating a new log-on account and e-mail account. The sensor on the computer scrolls up and down, uncontrollably. There was a reason that Barton dumped this computer. 10pm We push file folder buttons to find the lost information scattered in some obscure place.

10:30pm Barton finds it and we import Outlook e-mails. We have found it!!!!!

Monday 9am, early to the interview, downing coffee to stay awake. In the afternoon, I am wrangling with Barton’s computer, taking three times the normal speed for me to type one word, and apparently it likes to freeze every ten minutes. I save after every word I type.

Later, our mentor Don writes, “Remember, no matter what happens, it’s not the end of the world. Keep repeating that and you’ll be fine.”

I’ll be repeating it; trust me, I’ll be repeating it.

–Megan Cutter

So, what’s next?

When it comes to freelance writing, I feel like an awkward eleven year old in junior college, trying to figure out where the classrooms are, who the in-crowd is and where I belong. I have found there is a difference between creative journaling and professional freelance writing, much like the invisible lines of four-square. Navigating the negotiations with an editor, being an agent for myself and marketing my work is a whole different process than sitting down to write at three-thirty in the morning with a cup of coffee and a lit candle.

At a recent TAF meeting, I had talked about an article that was published and some of the obstacles I encountered. The immediate response was, “What are you going to do next?” I felt the joy of celebration as well as an urge to let the piece go and move on to the next project. Last night, a friend from DC called me to let me know she had finished a chapter on a book she was working on, a project she has not touched since last year. Her excitement was contagious. We need mentors to push us forward, guide us down the paths we take as writers. Then, it is up to us to take it to the next step, step out of our insecurities and put our work out there. Letting the awkward school girl grow into a young experienced adult.

So, what are you working on next?

- Megan Cutter