Paltry ratesstrictly editorial

February 25, 2007

Having gotten myself into a situation, I now really need to get out of it ...

To recap, I've been procrastinating with the unpleasant task of answering an email for a week. A note rolls in late this evening, a forward, asking me if I ever received the note of February 15.

One must answer. Mercifully one has until morning because a freelancer has no obligation to answer an email that arrives late on a Sunday evening. Does one boldly lie and say, why no. Does one say feebly and uselessly that one got swept up in deadlines. O dear. One feels so unprofessional. One is. One has been. Sigh. All this for $17 an hour one won't accept. This is what we'll send. Odds are good we'll never hear anything back. Despite their glorious list of titles, I can live with that.

I'm sorry, but don't think that I did. The last two weeks have been consumed, to the exclusion of virtually everything else, by a rather massive annual project.

As to the $ and the Press, having worked for a long time with nonprofits, I certainly understand the constraints that university presses face. That said, it unfortunately would not be practical for me to take on regular assignments. From time to time, though, I would be happy to, when it falls in well with other jobs. This, I appreciate, may well not be feasible for the Press.

May the publishing gods forgive me ...