Oh my goodness, I know, I am the WORST.  A whole MONTH of not blogging!  Anyone would think that it’s summer and I have a toddler and deadlines or something.  😉

Glorious happy water baby

I’ve gone straight from one crazy deadline to the next, and also we were on vacation for a couple of weeks in there (yay for lots of awesome grandparent time!), but I do feel like I have lots and lots to blog about, SO, as PENANCE for being gone so long, I thought I’d do something bonkers and try to do a whole WEEK of mini blogs.  Exciting?  Ooooo?  Meaning, unless I lose my mind between this and the deadline, I’ll post something every day for the next week, although it might be short (and may not be fascinating; no promises!). 

Also, instead of a Quote of the Day each day, I’m going to give you a Toddler’s Favorite Book of the Day, because he has like ninety new favorite books right now and they are all pretty adorable.  I think maybe there’s nothing cuter than an 18-month-old running up with a book and passionately demanding that you sit and read it to him right that second.  Awwww, snugglebug bookworm.

My mini-blog for today is a shout-out to copyeditors.  Talk about a thankless job!  At least, if you’re copyediting me.  I am insane-o-ridiculous about commas and grammar, and I certainly hope my poor copyeditors don’t get this much malarkey from their other authors.  Do you know what “stet” means?  It’s what authors & editors write when they disagree with a change – meaning please “stet” the original version.  I am a stetting maniac, which can’t be any fun for the poor copyeditor to get back. 

Maybe my favorite LOLcat ever.  I tried to figure out where it came from and it seems to be an old LOLcat contest on Laura Anne Gilman’s blog.  (Too funny!  I know her!  She is a fantabulous author!)

But when my copyeditors do catch mistakes, I appreciate them so much!  I know typos happen inevitably in almost every book (despite the four thousand levels of readers who check it before it goes out), but trying to eradicate them all is a Very Important Job, if you ask me.  

My new copyeditor for these dragon books (coming next summer!) is awesome and hilarious.  She caught this line in book one which I had read maybe a dozen times without thinking about it:

He spotted something in the mud and threw up his wings to stop her.

Ha!  Did you catch what’s hilarious about that?  Did you get an instant mental picture of a dragon vomiting up his wings somehow?  Aren’t I VERY GLAD my copyeditor caught this and kept it out of the final book?  Hooray for extra (and extra-cautious) eyeballs!

Anyway, thank you, copyeditors!  We may grumble about everything, but really we authors and editors salute you! 

More TOMORROW huzzah!

Toddler’s Favorite Book of the Day:


Bear’s Day Out by Michael Rosen