wherein Liz is a scientific editor (or at least a low-rent facsimile thereof)

[edenfalling]

What I have spent my day doing: taking biographical sketches in the form of responses to a set of questions and playing cut-and-paste until they are in the form of an actual encyclopedia article, with all the small grammatical changes that entails. Plus editing for typos, adjusting paragraph lengths so the articles are not WALL OF TEXT, and gently correcting weird usages from writers whose native language is not English. The idea is to keep as much of the original writer's work as possible intact, so I am merely an editor and not a full-fledged co-writer.

That is easier with some submissions than others.

...

At least I will eventually get paid for this?

(This work is for my dad's encyclopedia of mass spectrometry, incidentally. I really ought to have done these last weekend but as I said in my last post, I have had a shitty week and today is the first time I've had the right combination of physical and mental spoons to tackle this job. *sigh* I have such terribly first world problems, you know?)

Comments

[lexicology]

*offers hugs*
First world problems still suck. At least it seems to be for a reasonably good cause, even apart from the (never dismissable) "getting paid" bit.

[edenfalling]

The encyclopedia is something my dad has been thinking about for at least a decade now, and has been actively working on with his co-editors for something like three or four years. It has taken forever mostly because they wanted to get scientists in the field to write most of the bio articles -- partly because close colleagues (or the scientists themselves) will know more details than strangers would, but I think also partly to drum up interest in the project -- and it has been like pulling teeth to get people to A) agree to write articles and then B) turn in their work. Which is why a month or two ago I was doing a bunch of biographical research on random scientists I'd never heard of. But now the submissions are mostly in so the work has switched to fitting them into a uniform format, editing them, and soon actual layout stuff. Heck, if things continue at this pace the book may be published next year!

I will apparently be credited as a researcher and now as a contributing editor or something. Which is both cool and something useful I can put on future resumes. :-)

I just wish I hadn't been slogging through a slough of blah this past week. It's crazy-making to try explaining to people that yes, I am managing to get minimal sleep and yes, I am getting to work and eating meals, and no, I don't feel depressed... but I'm sorry, I just don't have the mental energy to do more than read fiction and maybe do a little bit of drawing every day once I've done the work thing and the food thing and the minimal sleep thing. And my unresponsive lump act is just as frustrating to me as it is to anyone who wants me to get stuff done! I want to be productive! I just can't right now.

(Well, obviously right now I can, but last week I couldn't. *sigh*)

[lexicology]

*pats* I know that state all too well, I'm afraid. At least things seem to be getting a bit easier for you right now.

And getting credited as an encyclopedia researcher/editor is super cool! [/geek]