Welcome to Writers Talkback. If you are a new user, your account will have to be approved manually to prevent spam. Please bear with us in the meantime
Just discovered I've permanently lost the last third of a short story for PF - I sent it in December and hadn't realised it was NOT fully backed up, I'd only done 2/3 of it, and carefully backed that up on 3 different memory sticks - AARRGH. They like it and want me to make minor changes ... which I can't make because I have no copy. And neither have they, apparently, the hard copy has been chucked - how they know what changes they wanted I really don't know!
While going through all this trauma, I completely missed the final paragraph of the e-mail, in which the editor accepted another short story.
Thank goodness something sweetened the bitter pill of realising what a plonker I've been!
Comments
are yer back luv?
:)
ps sorry to hear about your trouble with this. what are you going to do?
And congratulations on the other acceptance!
How about, "While I was making your changes I revised the ending, hope you like what I've done with it."
So, what was the "something" that happened to sweeten the bitter pill?
Just a by-note: this "event" shows exactly how important it is to be organised and to save, save, save.
Carry on!
What I do now, is I email myself regular updated versions of my work. I do that every time I make a significant amount of changes, as well as putting them on a memory stick. That way I can access it from any computer.
[quote=Gully]So, what was the "something" that happened to sweeten the bitter pill?[/quote]
It says up there, Gully, as hidden as it was in my e-mail, Gully! They accepted another story at the same time
Cheers, folks!
Never thought of that, Jenthom, but it's a good idea, thanks
Hopefully the new ending will be twice as good as the old one - especially as you're writing it now knowing it's got a home waiting for it.
I print out my stuff in its final draft stage whenever possible because I often find errors that I don't see on the screen and I tend to keep the scribbled on draft afterwards. Even so - on the very rare occasions I've had to send out a hard copy rather than e-mail, I always keep a photocopy.
E-mail is so much better because you've got the original without having to remember to save it!
Good luck with your re-write, ceka.
Still, at least they won't remeber the ending either so you have a bit of licence!
for dinner and tea,
all thse baked beans
"phut, whiff"
make a cautional endeth for me
trumpety
trumpetty
trumpitable
PS this is the new computer, now (for the fifth time) back from The PutadoktaShop and I gave in: I bought another flatscreen monitor for it. the PutaDoktaMan thinks this will solve the problems.
I'll believe it when I've had more than 3 months without any trouble.
you guessed it.
The 'lost' story. Complete, 3000 words.
I had spent about 5 hours rewriting another ending for the original which, if you recall, was 1700 words into its track. The new tacked-on ending also took the story to 3000 words and I had edited and sent it on.
I prefer the original and that's the one the editor wanted to see 'tweaked'.
So I tweaked the original, MADE ABOUT 3 COPIES, backed it up in its completeness and e-mailed a copy back to the editor (also so I could not lose it ever again!) and asked her to disregard the second ending.
Now I wait to see whether she's completely had enough of my incompetence or whether she liked the original/tweaky version enough to buy it.
If she does, I'll tell you what it's called, cos it was you lot who gave me the idea in the first place, particularly Uncle Stanley.
Hope it all turns out successfully in the end - I'm sure it will, given your track record with them.
I used to have an unfinished folder; and a finished but unpublished one; and a published one - but it didn't really work. Now I try to keep things in the one folder.
you guessed it.[/quote]
Oh Ceka! I'll own up I did chuckle when I read that but at least you found it!
Eek, it wasn't about him stood at the top of the stair with nowt but a night shirt and a mischievous grin, was it?
ONE folder Jay? I have 43 and that's just on the desktop. In Finder I have about 100 more.
Thank you everyone. I hope we've all learned summat!
I've learned about the 'E-mail it to yourself' lark, very cunning.
And Jay, I now also reckon the 'incompletes' is a waste of time - unless one keeps it absolutely up to date.