Authors: Steil and Robertson~~Editing, Eating, A Cat

 

The Not-Quite-Sunday Blog

(Close, but no cigar)
Michigan in October 2015

 

 

On Friday morning April 15, 2016, Rachael Steil will get off a plane in Norfolk, Virginia, having travelled from Grand Rapids, Michigan, for a second time on behalf of her book, Running in Silence.  She should walk in my door by 11:00.  We will give ourselves a couple of hours to decompress and visit with a friend, and by 2:00 we will have locked the doors, turned off the phone, and begun our reading aloud of Rachael’s book, polishing and correcting as we go.  We will have until 4:00 on Sunday afternoon–when she will leave for the airport–to complete the work.  We are confident we can do it.  We are both hard workers; we are both more than a little compulsive.  It’s a useful combination for the task at hand.  We’ll make it.

  A SERIOUS ADDENDUM:

RACHAEL ARRIVES–EVENTUALLY

Rachael overslept, missed her flight, arrived at 7:00 PM on Friday.  And we didn’t quite “make it,” although we came darned close!!  We actually did get through the manuscript, the Worksheets, and a query letter–in a preliminary way and in between food, a walk, and Rachael’s growing relationship with my cat, Isaac.  We will wrap things up in our respective homes and by phone during the coming week.  Then it’s off to the races with a publication date set for the fall.

 

First Things First: Rachael renews her acquaintance with Isaac

 

Rachael is the daughter of a friend of a friend, and we were “connected” by my friend in 2014. We looked at her manuscript then and I read a few chapters and offered some general suggestions and that was that.  In October of last year we finally met in person when I flew to Grand Rapids to talk about my own book, Looking for Lydia; Looking for God.

 

I don’t remember the day she sent the email asking if I would edit her book.  My notes tell me I spent my first two hours reading the Prologue and Chapter One on the 13th of February.  On the 31st of March, we completed our preliminary work on the book and decided we wanted one more reading and Rachael decided to fly to Norfolk to do that in person.

 

 

 

Friday night: Cogan’s Mediterranean Pizza: Large

 

 

Since her first trip to Norfolk, only three months ago, Rachael has been busy.  She left here with a head filled with information, ideas, suggestions–for her book, for her blog, for her life as a member of the community of writers–really almost too much to sort out.  Rachael sorted it out.

 

 

                                                         All Day Saturday

 

 

Saturday night: Salmon and Vegetables

 

Sunday afternoon: Still Working

 

 

 

 

A Monday Report:

Rachael Steil, age twenty-four, should have landed in Grand Rapids at 11:00 last night; she has a full day at her job today.

Dean Robertson, age seventy, was in bed before 8:00 PM, slept until 6:00 AM, and is seriously considering a nap at 9:30.

Rachael and I will both have done our “homework” in time for our next phone editing session on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Isaac is waiting for Rachael’s return:

 

Read Rachael’s blog at Running in Silence

Contribute to her GoFundMe campaign

 

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