Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Was it like this for Barbara Cartland?

In January I joined the Romantic Novelists Association. One of the benefits is having an assessment of a first novel. Last week I received a reminder that all manuscripts for assessment for 2006 need to be submitted by August 31st, so on Thursday I set about printing all 339 pages.

I was 100 or so pages into it when I realised I had not updated the manuscript with my revised chapter 1. The new version has an extra 2 pages making all my page numbering wrong.

Not to worry, I thought, when it's finished printing, I'll print the new first chapter and have pages 14a and 14b. Not very professional but I can't waste all this paper.

I also noted that the RNA asked for the manuscript to be printed in font point size 12; I was using 11 point. Hey, it's readable; I can't waste all this paper.

At page 262 I ran out of paper; then I discovered that I was also running out of toner and that pages 179 onwards were missing words.

I've bought toner and paper and have started printing in 12 point again from the beginning. I am so sorry, trees.

The pages are churning out as I write. I will need to take out a mortgage to afford the post on this.

Anyone got any ideas for what to do with 262 slightly-used A4 sheets?

2 comments:

Shirley said...

You could cut them up into squares and hang them on a hook in your downstairs loo?
Cut them up and offer them to young gum chewers?
Cut them into 6"x4" and frame them, people will read them and wonder.......

Liz Hinds said...

Hmm, interesting ... I could paste bits all over Swansea and would get known as the Phantom Bill Paster of old Swansea Town. And people would fight with each other to read the latest instalment and it would get in the newspapers and they'd all be asking, 'who is the mystery author?' and then I would reveal myself (tastefully) and publishers would be fighting over who got to publish me and make a million. Mmm, yes.