The Vent and Rant Thread

[Hemmi]

We haven't had anyone either. They will do well if they come to the door! Mom way overbuys on candy anyway.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by issybird

This is a freaking disaster. After 6 PM and not a single trick-or-treater. I never get many and I always overbuy the candy because I'd hate to run out, but none?

I suppose that the issue is its having been rescheduled from last night (people here are weird), when it was postponed because of widespread power outages and road closures from the wind storm the night before. A lot of people still don't have power (got mine back!) and I bet a lot of the kids are going to parties tonight, scheduled when it was thought they'd be trick or treating last night.

Whatever the reason, that doesn't solve my candy problem. Anyone who shows up from now on will do very well indeed. Worth the trip, folks! Because what is left will be eaten, alas.

We haven't had trick-or-treaters in 10 years. Ever since we moved up here, in this rural area. Here, a kid could hit 3 houses, maybe 4, in 30 minutes--in the suburbs, they could hit 10+ in the same amount of time, and they'd walk their butts off, up here, trying to even hit a total of 30 homes. So...not surprised, but like everyone else here, I buy candy--just "in case." I hate having it leftover at the house, too.

It's kind of sad to see what's happened to Halloween. When I was a kid--in the burbs, more or less, we'd hit 100+ houses in a night; everybody would be out and about, or ready in their Living Rooms; some folks, on less-frigid nights, would sit in their driveways or porches, with bowls/bags of candy, to welcome trick-n-treaters. It's sad now that parents are afraid to let kids go out T&T'ing, afraid to let them go out with friends, or even in a group with some responsible adult. Afraid that they'll get razor blades or crack or meth or worse. These safe-zone Halloween parties just don't seem the same, to me.

{shrug} Sad.

Hitch

[Katsunami]

I'm tired. I'm so incredibly, impossibly tired.

Not physically, but mentally. Don't have a motivation to do anything. The reason? Other people. I feel the urge to start shooting anyone who utters the sentence "I don't know..." one more time, or anyone who just doesn't stop talking or asking questions.

Some people talk my ears off all day, talking, talking, talking, asking questions, and getting upset when I ask them to **** the ***** up. When they get asked something, the answer is always "I don't know", and then they drop the subject. If they need something done, it's always "I don't know, have no experience with that" (read: solve this **** for me, because I'm a lazy ****). Then again, if they ask me something and I tell them *I* don't know that on the top of my head, they get upset and tell me that, as a computer guy I "should" know. Yes, sure. I know everything about every program ever developed in the last 25 years. Why shouldn't I? I'm the computer guy. My brain is plugged straight into the internet, like (what was that movie, inadvertently downloads the entire internet into his brain? edit: The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes). Not.

**** **** ****. Why won't some people give me a moment of peace and silence? It's 2 AM over here, and I'm still up, because now, I can finally get some ***** done that requires concentration for more than like 30 seconds.

[cromag]

We live at the very end of a long, unlit dead end, so we usually only get kids who live on our street. This year that amounted to two parties. The first, at about 4:30, were the two kids from across the street -- very young -- with their folks. Then, about 7:00 we got four kids in the 8 to 10 years old range.

It is difficult to plan, since in past years we have gotten some older kids who were willing to make the walk, but we're never crowded.

[Blossom]

None here ever. We saw this place decked out for Halloween when we first moved here in 2015 so that year we bought three big bags of candy. Not one knock or pitter patter of feet. We still buy a small cheap bag but still no one ever knocks.

Sent from my Nexus 7

[issybird]

Originally Posted by Hitch

It's kind of sad to see what's happened to Halloween. When I was a kid--in the burbs, more or less, we'd hit 100+ houses in a night; everybody would be out and about, or ready in their Living Rooms; some folks, on less-frigid nights, would sit in their driveways or porches, with bowls/bags of candy, to welcome trick-n-treaters. It's sad now that parents are afraid to let kids go out T&T'ing, afraid to let them go out with friends, or even in a group with some responsible adult. Afraid that they'll get razor blades or crack or meth or worse. These safe-zone Halloween parties just don't seem the same, to me.

{shrug} Sad.

Hitch

Yeah, Halloween gets me in fogey mode. It was such a blast when I was a kid; you were out at night, you could roam all over town and stay out late, it was so social! At least here only the little ones go out with an adult; the biggest danger is from dark streets and no sidewalks, not from human menace. Although I think the danger from human menace is vastly overstated in most cases and kids have to be brought up to "solo" at some point. It's bizarre to me that in this age of cell phone penetration to an absurdly young age which should be a total game-changer in terms of latitude given to a kid, the exact opposite has occurred.

Oh, for the days when a kid only had to show up at dinner time!

(I managed to offload most of my candy; I was hit by one big group. Phew!)

[Hemmi]

We had zero kids this year. And we have TONS of candy left over because Mom way overbuys. We've lived here for 30+ years and never had a complete zero turnout.

[Cinisajoy]

I got as many trick or treaters as expected. None.

[Hitch]

I told a client today that if he kept bugging me, I was going to FIRE him as a client and leave him and his error-ridden book dangling. I told another client, with FOUR edits that no, we couldn't--and wouldn't--make them today.

You know the coffee mug--I had one for years--that said, "lack of planning on your part doesn't create an emergency on my part"? Man, I am up to THERE with that crap.

First, a guy that allegedly "paid" his buddy, who has a degree in English Lit, to proofread his book. Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiight. Now that the book is published--in print and in digital, mind you--he's got 117 edits that he's GOTTA HAVE, right away. I warned him that we had, inhouse, over 1,000 EDITS, from clients, all who need them urgently, etc. I warned him that that many edits meant not a minute less than 6 hours, per edition (PDF, ePUB, MOBI), because now, they are separated. It's not like when we first gave him the PDF, and he could have done them, then, relatively quickly and we would then have had the edited material in the exports from INDD. Today, I get an "urgent" email from him, with him telling me that he doesn't "like this position I'm in." Really? No S**T! Well, guess what--I don't like somehow being responsiblee for authors that don't proofread their stuff, before they publish it, either. I told him if he bothers me again, I'm firing him as a client.

THEN, a second client called.

Spoiler:

You all remember, how my poor guys worked 36 straight hours, to get these two "urgent" books done, last month, right? We gave them the finals (v5's) a skoosh over two weeks ago. (And their "editors' could NEVER get the proof forms right, either, causing us endless amounts of extra work to do the revisions.) Well, here we are, two weeks later, and guess what? They JUST loaded the MOBI file for one of them to the KDP, and lo--they got a message that it had X typos. Well, some weren't; but 4 were. And now, they want those 4 edits--today. Because, of course, it's important.

I told her the same thing--I have people already working 50+ hours in a week. I'm working more thn 60 each week. I don't have ANYONE that has a spare half-hour (that's what it takes, when you build in the MOBI-building/testing time, with the KDP upload, to test fonts), that isn't already committed to the 1,000 edits ahead of her in the queue.

I told her, from my standpoint, we'd killed ourselves, over their last urgent deadline, and here the books weren't yet published, weeks later. She told me, "well, we MISSED THE MOON."

(No. I didn't make that up).

So, of course, I look at the lunar calendar, and sho'nuff, the next full moon is the 3rd--two days from now.

Did anyone think to upload the MOBI files we gave them, any time in the last two weeks???? Noooooo, of course not. So, they JUST did it, and now--here we are again, with another emergency.

I told her that we'd try to get them done this week, and that was the best I could promise. What really killed me is that she kept insisting that I ask "someone" here, some employee, or something, that "surely, something can be worked out." Well, sadly, no, it can't. We're slammed, and it's FIFO here. Not to mention, we DID put them ahead, and I nearly killed my guys, working them like that, and...for what?

Spoiler:

The MOON didn't allow the books to hit their deadlines?

The MOON.

I told her, no, there isn't anyone here, and NO, I won't ask them. We have a firm policy about FIFO, and I'm not going to disadvantage all the other folks, all politely waiting their turn, in the queue, just because nobody at her end thought that they should upload the books to the KDP ahead of time--which, BTW, I'd STRONGLY recommended to them, before. And more importantly, we're BEHIND. I don't have anyone that is lollygagging around here, FFS.

Man, I am SO angry today I could probably chew up cement and not notice. This nonsense, that we're somehow RESPONSIBLE for compensating for people who don't proofread books that they are publishing, for people that don't think to upload a book AHEAD OF TIME--wow, such advance planning!--and that it's our job to "fix" these issues, or that somehow, WE are letting them down....



Hitch

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by Hitch

I told a client today that if he kept bugging me, I was going to FIRE him as a client and leave him and his error-ridden book dangling. I told another client, with FOUR edits that no, we couldn't--and wouldn't--make them today.

You know the coffee mug--I had one for years--that said, "lack of planning on your part doesn't create an emergency on my part"? Man, I am up to THERE with that crap.

First, a guy that allegedly "paid" his buddy, who has a degree in English Lit, to proofread his book. Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiight. Now that the book is published--in print and in digital, mind you--he's got 117 edits that he's GOTTA HAVE, right away. I warned him that we had, inhouse, over 1,000 EDITS, from clients, all who need them urgently, etc. I warned him that that many edits meant not a minute less than 6 hours, per edition (PDF, ePUB, MOBI), because now, they are separated. It's not like when we first gave him the PDF, and he could have done them, then, relatively quickly and we would then have had the edited material in the exports from INDD. Today, I get an "urgent" email from him, with him telling me that he doesn't "like this position I'm in." Really? No S**T! Well, guess what--I don't like somehow being responsiblee for authors that don't proofread their stuff, before they publish it, either. I told him if he bothers me again, I'm firing him as a client.

THEN, a second client called.

Spoiler:

You all remember, how my poor guys worked 36 straight hours, to get these two "urgent" books done, last month, right? We gave them the finals (v5's) a skoosh over two weeks ago. (And their "editors' could NEVER get the proof forms right, either, causing us endless amounts of extra work to do the revisions.) Well, here we are, two weeks later, and guess what? They JUST loaded the MOBI file for one of them to the KDP, and lo--they got a message that it had X typos. Well, some weren't; but 4 were. And now, they want those 4 edits--today. Because, of course, it's important.

I told her the same thing--I have people already working 50+ hours in a week. I'm working more thn 60 each week. I don't have ANYONE that has a spare half-hour (that's what it takes, when you build in the MOBI-building/testing time, with the KDP upload, to test fonts), that isn't already committed to the 1,000 edits ahead of her in the queue.

I told her, from my standpoint, we'd killed ourselves, over their last urgent deadline, and here the books weren't yet published, weeks later. She told me, "well, we MISSED THE MOON."

(No. I didn't make that up).

So, of course, I look at the lunar calendar, and sho'nuff, the next full moon is the 3rd--two days from now.

Did anyone think to upload the MOBI files we gave them, any time in the last two weeks???? Noooooo, of course not. So, they JUST did it, and now--here we are again, with another emergency.

I told her that we'd try to get them done this week, and that was the best I could promise. What really killed me is that she kept insisting that I ask "someone" here, some employee, or something, that "surely, something can be worked out." Well, sadly, no, it can't. We're slammed, and it's FIFO here. Not to mention, we DID put them ahead, and I nearly killed my guys, working them like that, and...for what?

Spoiler:

The MOON didn't allow the books to hit their deadlines?

The MOON.

I told her, no, there isn't anyone here, and NO, I won't ask them. We have a firm policy about FIFO, and I'm not going to disadvantage all the other folks, all politely waiting their turn, in the queue, just because nobody at her end thought that they should upload the books to the KDP ahead of time--which, BTW, I'd STRONGLY recommended to them, before. And more importantly, we're BEHIND. I don't have anyone that is lollygagging around here, FFS.

Man, I am SO angry today I could probably chew up cement and not notice. This nonsense, that we're somehow RESPONSIBLE for compensating for people who don't proofread books that they are publishing, for people that don't think to upload a book AHEAD OF TIME--wow, such advance planning!--and that it's our job to "fix" these issues, or that somehow, WE are letting them down....



Hitch

Why are you having to do the edits? They have the files. Wait did you say 117? Not sure I would even want to look at that one.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

Why are you having to do the edits? They have the files. Wait did you say 117? Not sure I would even want to look at that one.

Because in the case of the one, they're in PDF, ePUB and MOBI, and the client doesn't have the knowledge or the software to edit any of those; and in the case of the latter, ditto, but it's ePUB/MOBI. That's why.

This sort of thing--post-production edits--happens ALL the time. ALL. 98%+ of our clients make edits/tweaks, once they see their books in a new format, e.g., PDF or ePUB/MOBI. More than half only make a handful--1-5 edits, minor things. Not a big deal. But the last year or so, we are getting an increasing number like this--hundreds of edits per book. Hundreds. (We had a client that filled up over 2,000 edits on our proof forms. TWO THOUSAND.) Unfurtunately, a lot of these--like this 117--aren't just after the book is produced, but AFTER it's published, as well.

Not our doing, you understand? Theirs.

Hitch

[badgoodDeb]

But the client still has the original source. Can't he edit that, or have you made too many manual changes to make it become PDF, ePUB, and MOBI? (which would be lost if client started again from his source)

[CRussel]

Ah, my poor Hitchness. You truly have my sympathies!! As a _professional_ who has written >3 dozen books, I have a very clear understanding of what it takes to actually produce a book that has minimal errors. Not zero errors -- so far as I've been able to determine, no such animal exists. But people who think that a degree in English Lit defines a qualified proofreader?! Oh, dear.

When we first got in this business, we had a really good Acquisitions Editor and an equally good Project Editor. Both of whom carefully explained both the process, and the costs of errors and fixes at each point in the process. We made it our business to NOT do stupid things like walk the Pages. And we provided nearly instant turnaround on author edits and Proofs (final PDFs before production.)

In some ways, we were fortunate that we learned in the days before eBooks, where it was easy to understand how making changes impacted the printed page. But it also was because we were professionals, taking our role in the process seriously, and doing our best to not make our laziness or carelessness create extra work for others in the process. Which made it a lot easier when we finally hit the _really big error_ that required re-writing four paragraphs completely. (Not our fault, they changed the software at the last minute because they couldn't get a feature to actually work.) Because we had good credit with the publisher we were able to make the changes and not have anyone come unglued. And because we understood the dynamics of the production process, we could do it in a way that, while a RPITA for everyone, did NOT walk the pages even a little. Took some creative re-writing, but we did it.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by Hitch

Because in the case of the one, they're in PDF, ePUB and MOBI, and the client doesn't have the knowledge or the software to edit any of those; and in the case of the latter, ditto, but it's ePUB/MOBI. That's why.

This sort of thing--post-production edits--happens ALL the time. ALL. 98%+ of our clients make edits/tweaks, once they see their books in a new format, e.g., PDF or ePUB/MOBI. More than half only make a handful--1-5 edits, minor things. Not a big deal. But the last year or so, we are getting an increasing number like this--hundreds of edits per book. Hundreds. (We had a client that filled up over 2,000 edits on our proof forms. TWO THOUSAND.) Unfurtunately, a lot of these--like this 117--aren't just after the book is produced, but AFTER it's published, as well.

Not our doing, you understand? Theirs.

Hitch

Mind blown. Now I can understand maybe 1 or 2 errors getting past everyone but hundreds.
I don't recall seeing proofreading as one of your services.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by badgoodDeb

But the client still has the original source. Can't he edit that, or have you made too many manual changes to make it become PDF, ePUB, and MOBI? (which would be lost if client started again from his source)

S/he could, but then we'd have to reconvert the material to the output formats--PDF, ePUB/MOBI. We do our PDF work in InDesign, and of course we do the eBook work in HTML. There isn't any viable way to get edits from, say, a Word file--like somebody uses track changes--to an ePUB. Not automatically or in any fashion like that. Once the ebook is made, the edits have to be done by human hands. Ditto the production files in InDesign, for the print interior.

Originally Posted by CRussel

Ah, my poor Hitchness. You truly have my sympathies!! <snippage>

In some ways, we were fortunate that we learned in the days before eBooks, where it was easy to understand how making changes impacted the printed page. But it also was because we were professionals, taking our role in the process seriously, and doing our best to not make our laziness or carelessness create extra work for others in the process. Which made it a lot easier when we finally hit the _really big error_ that required re-writing four paragraphs completely. (Not our fault, they changed the software at the last minute because they couldn't get a feature to actually work.) Because we had good credit with the publisher we were able to make the changes and not have anyone come unglued. And because we understood the dynamics of the production process, we could do it in a way that, while a RPITA for everyone, did NOT walk the pages even a little. Took some creative re-writing, but we did it.

In some ways, I miss the "good old days," when authors had to understand what it took, for the publishers to make edits. Now? S**t, now, they think that because you can open Word and make changes and hit "save," that's how EVERYTHING works. It's sooooooooooooooooooooo frustrating. And all the other things that authors had to learn/do, back then?

Things like hiring proofers, or bartering for those services, via a critique group or writer's group? Or, hell, using a writing group AT ALL, to improve one's writing skills? Pah, I laugh at your naivete, to think that that's still the way. Pah!, I say! We don't need no old-fashioned stinkin' writing skills, I tell ya.

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

Mind blown. Now I can understand maybe 1 or 2 errors getting past everyone but hundreds.
I don't recall seeing proofreading as one of your services.

Yup, hundreds. I think I said this--we had a client with >2K errors. TWO THOUSAND? How do you miss two THOUSAND errors?

I dunno, man. I just don't know. I was so beat up today, I actually left the office "early" (at 1:30, having gone in at 5:30) and laid down and slept for a few hours. In the middle of the day. Sheeeeesh.

Hitch