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About Me
- moonrat
- I'm a recovering editorial assistant. I'm like most of my kind: impoverished coffee-and-gin survivalists, underpaid but ambitious, bitter but hopeful. Painfully self-conscious, woefully self-congratulatory, willfully self-indulgent. Yes, I'm white, but I'm trying to get over it. Accurate spelling (to the dismay of my boss) is not among my interests. So read forgivingly.
Favorite Backlist
- FAQ about the Ass
- Moonrat's Guide to Getting Published
- Moonrat's Guide to Getting a Job in Publishing
- What Makes a Dream Author
- Why You Should Never Submit Unagented to a Publishing Company
- How Royalties Work
- What's Safe to Publish Online?
- Rules for Not Making Editors Hate You
- Marketing Your Book (and Knowing What to Ask Your Publisher to Do)
- Things You Should Be Able to Expect from Your Editor
- It Is a Truth Universally Acknowledged That an Individual in Possession of a Word Processor Must Be in Want of a Book Deal (Lessons of Publishing from Jane Austen)
- Sonnets for Moonrat by Beloved Readers
I've been editing today
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13 comments:
As you disappear under the pile of books and attempt to tunnel your way through, listen for me. I'll be deeper down, shouting, "Marco!"
I suspect that Amazon's next advancement will be a telepathic site that instantly knows you'll lose the should I click or shouldn't I battle and just order it for you anyway.
I don't know if this will help you, but about a month ago, I managed to curb (slightly) my one-click impulses by adding books to my wish list instead of ordering. Then every couple of weeks I look through my wish list and I end up culling one or two books that I don't really want all that badly. The UPS man still rings my doorbell at least once or twice a week, but I really have slowed down a little :)
Oh. My. God. So, in addition to, ya know, a bookshelf full of books (I've got two of those), I am now the proud owner of a Shame Box. What is a Shame Box, you ask? Why, it's a clear plastic storage container full of books that I've purchased (mostly on Amazon, actually, almost entirely on Amazon) and haven't gotten around to reading yet. Just as I picked out all the unread books on my shelves and dumped them in the Shame Box, filling it almost to the brim, a bookseller friend showed up with three grocery bags full of ARCs from work. My Shame Box is overflowing! Every time I involuntarily, somehow wind up on Amazon with my cursor hovering over the "Place Order" button, I will myself to look over at the Shame Box. Sometimes I reconsider my purchase. Other times... Let's just say, when my live-in boyfriend moved out (not because of the books, I tell you!), the UPS guy who brings my haul home became, like, one of my closest buddies.
Kindle time!
Mary cracked me up because I do the same thing. Except mine is more of a Shame Shelf. Which sounds like I'm trying to say "same self" with an impediment...
I promise myself, no more books until I finish those! And then I read another bloggy book review and I get the itch all over again.
I don't have a Shame Box. I don't have a Shame Shelf. I have a Shame Bookshelf--a whole eight shelves high, full of books I've skimmed, dipped into, or haven't even started yet.
And then there are the boxes under the beds....
Books are both easier to find and in some cases cheaper these days, and I buy more than I can read (including deeply-discounted ones and used ones). Now if someone could help me acquire more time for reading, I'd be a very happy person.
I just read a poignant NYT piece that referred to John Cheever as relatively forgotten now -- if the world can forget a writer as famous as Cheever, what will happen to everyone else? It bothers me so much I'm going to buy a Cheever novel! And maybe even read it!
(P.S. Don't feel too guilty, Moonie. With every click you're helping a writer and we appreciate it!)
When the books are piled so high in the hall that letters squeeze from the pages and snag your tights as you run out the door, you know you're in trouble.
You guys are hilarious. I have been reading your blogs and find them amusing. Moon,I love reading from an editors perspective. I have learned a lot. Thank you.
As for Amazon, my husband has banned me from the site and forced me to participate in read-a-holic meetings. I can't help it I love books!
I would be an Amazon addict had I any money. As it is, my house is infested with stray library books. I swear, they're breeding!!!
That’s how I feel! My TBR list is now at 97. Thank god they’re digital.
DON’T JUDGE ME!
Mine too, but at Books and Collectibles (Australia) and Better World Books.
I've managed to cut my online book shopping by reserving books at a couple of libraries I frequent. It's enough like shopping -- choose, 'check out', collect -- that it calms the urge a little. My TBR pile is still *huge* though...
books can make good objects to prop up things like air conditioners. perhaps best to keep collecting.
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