Saturday, December 22, 2007
The dog ate my homework. No, really!
Lately, Perry, our adorable little beagle who's just the most lovable creature on earth, has acquired a less than attractive habit. When my husband and I leave the dogs alone in the house, Perry seeks out "treats" to chew on.
First, he started chewing pens. We quickly learned to put all pens away when we go out. He then took to raiding our office trash cans. I suppose that's where he developed a taste for paper.
Tonight, Dan and I went out to dinner. Knowing that Perry has developed this new and irritating habit, both Dan and I closed our office doors, and I put all papers in the living room up out of Perry's reach. Or so I thought! (Cue ominous music.)
One of the joys of being a prolific writer is that I frequently have to multitask. I'm working on the third book of the Morgan Kingsley series, which is due to my publisher on January 15th, but I've also been going over the page proofs for The Devil You Know, book 2 of the series. (Page proofs are the typeset version of the manuscript, and the author gets a chance to read them and make corrections--hence, the term "proofreading.")
These particular proofs have been giving me headaches, because I'm finding a lot of errors--errors I know were not in the electronic file I sent, so I gather some if not all of the book was retyped. I'm having Dan look over them, too, because I don't feel confident I'm catching everything. I'm to send the pages that need correction back to the publisher by January 2, and I've gotten through more than 200 pages. Those 200 pages were sitting on the coffee table, and I feared Perry might find them attractive, so I picked them up and put them on an end table, which was much higher.
Apparently, not high enough! We came home from dinner, and what did I see lying around the living room floor in shreds? You guessed it! Luckily, he didn't get all that many pages, but I know there were a couple I had corrections for because of the pieces of Post-It notes that were stuck to the remains. Lest you think I'm pulling your leg:
So what do you think? Will my editor believe the "my dog ate my homework" story? Argh! Anyone want a beagle?? (Just kidding. I still love him, and I'm sure this will be funny some day. Just not now!!)
posted by Jenna Black @ 9:36 PM
3
comments
3 Comments:
If you are going to use the old line,"The dog ate my homework" I defnitely suggest you send the photo along with the comment if you want anyone to believe you (after they stop laughing, of course). I admit it...I would have to laugh at this tale also. Perry sounds like a very interesting member of your family and, obviously, a much loved one...when he isn't snacking on your work that is. Is Perry in the "doghouse" now...ha,ha.
Well...if your editor doesn't believe you, then tell her to wait about twenty-four hours and the truth will set Perry free. Just bring a pooper scooper with you and a plastic bag. ;-)
That is terrible! I am willing to believe anything nowadays after I saw my dog, trying to walk on two feet, balancing himself on a ball. At least the thing that destroys your manuscript is a dog, which you can close somewhere and then give a cookie. I have a little sister, who thinks that everything should be colored and shred to pieces with scissors. Try closing her somewhere and you get headache. She is grown now, but still goes through my stuff.
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