Braaaaaaain

I swear my brain cells are about to crawl out from my ears and abandon me in favour of new pastures. Which would be unfortunate for all involved but at the same time I would completely understand.

In case you haven't guessed (see previous entry for a hint) I am reaching the end of my tether from this dissertation. For those who have written one before, you will understand my pain. That moment when you can see the light at the end of the tunnel...when you know that the end is in sight...when you can look at you calendar and actually see the due date...

And you've still got work to do.

Uhhh Pinkie Pie? I said the party was 'delayed' not 'CANCELLED'!

Yes my friends, I have reached THAT moment. Where I can see the end and it becomes that much harder to actually focus on work because while I am celebrating the fact that I've almost done it, my mind has decided to ignore the 'almost' part and go away on holiday. Why? Just...WHY?

I'm not really worried just yet. I keep thinking about what I've already done and calculating word counts and praying to the Great Muffin in the Sky (too much My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. I regret NOTHING!) that I will not only hit the minimum word count (which is looking more and more positive) but that when I eventually send my final draft to my supervisor that I am not told 'Ok, this part is fine but the rest of it make no sense.' This is completely unlikely just now but this is normal for me at this stage.

On an unrelated topic, I thought that some of you might like to see how important and serious we people on my course consider ourselves to be. As the future gatekeepers of Culture and Humanity, we felt it was imperative to share our knowledge and enlightenment with the world.

In keeping with the theme, we are the ponies every pony should know ;)

At this point I hope that some of you will know that I am kidding, but it's still fun to see what we get up to sometimes. Follow the link and while you're there, say 'Hi' to our wonderful video editor who actually made our random video shots look decent!

Hopefully next time, I will actually have intelligent things to say.

Seasons Greetings

Well, we are now well and truly into the Christmas season. A time for family, for community and to celebrate the relationships that we have made over the years. Or possibly a time to crawl into bed, cover your head and hope it goes away soon (Bah humbug!)

So what does that mean for publishers and students alike?

Well, for students, it is a time to panic over deadlines and exams and struggle to complete the work before finally allowing themselves to keel over in a heap when the final page is printed or that last exam paper has been handed in.

For the publishers, it's a frantic time of trying to maintain the availability of their backlist and frontlist titles as people snatch up their books as gifts or take advantage of the post-Christmas sales. In addition, they are also getting ready for the New Year, and trying to get as much work done as possible before the Christmas break begins and so they can finally relax.

In other words, the publisher is doing what many people in a variety of professions are doing.

I am not trying to be cheeky, but I have found that since telling people what I am studying, I often get this blank look as if by doing this course and trying to enter this profession, I am somehow setting myself apart and that I am being dubbed as 'something else'. And while that can be fun, in an 'I-know-what-assumptions-you-are-making-and-they-make-me-look-good-so-I-will-bask-in-them-minion' way, it can get quite frustrating, especially when some of those assumptions are made with an element of coldness, as if a publisher (or publishing student) is somehow the devil to all creativity and we are lording over you all with our intelligence and judgements.

So if you give or receive a book this Christmas, remember the people who worked hard to get it into your hands. Remember the agent who had to persuade a publisher that the book was worth their time; the editor who had the difficult task of juggling and solving problems with people and product; the producer and designers who struggled and debated how it would look; the marketer who fought to bring it to your attention among all the others; those who had to decide on the budget and even those who used that budget the best way they could. And, of course, the author themselves who had to contend with writer's block, shaky inspiration and looming deadlines to create the world you are about to delve into.

May I take this opportunity to wish you very happy holidays, whatever you celebrate and may 2012 bring you all you desire.

And if nothing else...you get to rip pretty paper to pieces.