My husband got sick with what was diagnosed as the flu a week-and-a-half ago, and by last Monday I had a sore throat. The doctor said I had an early bronchitis. Well, maybe it was early then, but by week's end I had a full-fledged case of coughing my guts out. This past weekend, with both of us coughing, it sounds like a damn TB ward at our house.
I'm no stranger to bronchitis. I came down with it right after I got married back in '91 and was coughing up a storm then, too. I had it again a few years back. But it seems to be taking longer to go away this time. I guess it's because I'm older than I used to be? Or maybe it's because I had to take care of my husband, since he was sicker than I was and is a 200+ pound baby when in any discomfort. You moms who have nursed sick kids and sick spouses while not feeling too swivvy yourselves have my utmost admiration.
The bad news is I only read one chapter of a new book I bought before giving in to the I-don't-wanna-do-shit feeling of the sick. It's shaping up to be a damn good book, too, with lots of layers to peel off.
The good news is that in spite of feeling like crap I managed to write a couple thousand words:
Progress meter by Writertopia.
Yeah, I'm shocked. It didn't feel like I'd written more than a couple of paragraphs. Most of this was insertions, since I'm introducing a character I'd forgotten about and need to mention her before page 121. I like reading well-constructed layered storylines. Writing them is a pain in the ass.
I've contacted no less than three authors with new releases to ask if they'd like to be interviewed. One, contacted through her web site, has not been heard from after four weeks. Another, also contacted through her web site, has not been heard from after a week-and-a-half. The third was also contacted through her web site, and her e-mail bounced back as promptly as a punching bag with a message that the address is no good. Come on. I used the same means to contact them that their readers would. Is this really how they treat their readers? What the hell is with these people?
If you haven't already figured it out, I'm still feeling a little cranky.
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6 comments:
Sorry to read you're not feeling well, Bettye. Hope you and the hubby get better soon.
Reon
P.S. I've been coughing today, too. My 3 year old started first. And now my husband is hacking. Uh-oh.
I hope you and the hubby feel better soon. I was sick last week and it was no fun. :-(
Gwyneth
Men are such babies. But it's no fun being sick, whether you're a man or a woman. I hope you're both feeling better real soon. And I'm so impressed that you were still able to write while being sick. You are amazing.
Bettye, I hope you feel better soon. Bronchitis is nothing to play with. It's been going around a lot this year.
As an author, you definately have to make sure your "contact" information is up to date, even if you don't update the other stuff on your site. You were contacting them to be interviewed and that's important and as you mentioned, what if a reader had been trying to leave a comment about one of their books--they are missing out all the way around.
Reon, sounds like you'd better get ready to go into Superwoman mode. I hope your family makes a quick recovery. Doesn't it just tear you up when the little one looks at you for help through big wide eyes that are less than bright because he's sick?
Thanks for the good wishes, Gwyneth! Glad to hear you're on the mend.
Not so amazing, Donna, but thank you for such kind thoughts! I just did my writing in the morning. I usually feel pretty good after a good night's sleep, but lately it's been a fairly quick trip downhill from there as the day wears on.
Shelia, on the grand scheme of things my little request comes in way lower than a note from someone who's shelled out hard cash for an author's book, but sheesh! Frustrating all the same.
As an avid reader, if I like a book, I go immediately to the author's website. It is so disappointing to find the website out of date, the links broken, the contact information wrong.
I know authors are busy people but they need to remember that keeping their website up to date is part of their business as an author. They certainly wouldn't like to see a bookstore carrying only dusty copies of their three-year-old releases when they've published at least four books since.
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