It was tax return week, as I promised myself that I'd get them done before the mad rush. I always try to get them done early- or mid-January and last Friday was my deadline. After a lot of number crunching on my calculator I proved what I already suspected — I'm earning only a little more than the average freelance writer. Enough to pay the rent and bills, but not much more.
I don't have kids, I don't have a car, I don't have holidays, I don't have a taste for high-end trainers, and my mobile phone is eight years old and third-hand. I'm on a pay-as-you-go contract and most of the time it's turned off because I'm within arm's reach of a landline. What I'm saying is that I live within my means.
I think that's also the case for a lot of people, both writers and artists, but, rather than talk about changing jobs, I'm sure to a man or woman they would say, "Support me by buying more of my books" or "Let the editor know you like my artwork/illustrations". This is the career I chose and it has supported me for the last thirty-five years. I'm not giving up now... I wouldn't know what else to do!
The book was in a state when I picked it up in a junk shop some time in the 1980s, probably for not much more than the 6d. (2½p) someone has written on the cover. The cover was loose, torn and the pages of the book were held together by sellotape. Some pages had become entirely detached.
It didn't take too long to fix. I cut a bit of tissue and covered in with glue to bind the pages together at the spine and added a tiny amount of glue where pages had been detached. I used a bit of an old envelope to fill the gap at the bottom of the spine and glued the cover back on. A lightly dampened cloth removed most of the ring on the back cover. I didn't try to do anything with the torn corner as the book is still in very poor condition. But there's at least one more read left in it now and the pages don't fall out when I take it off the shelf.
Work on the next book from Bear Alley is progressing steadily. I have drafts of three introductory pieces, although two need work. But I thought I'd go back to the layouts as there was still quite a bit to do. I spent Tuesday and Wednesday cleaning up scans and creating a header for the books, which means most of the furniture is now in place. All (All! Ha!) I have to do now is get the introductions sorted... and everything else that goes on in order to get these books out. But I've taken at least a couple of steps in the right direction...
Tree update. I mentioned last week that there the local council were intent on cutting down a tree. A small group of people were unhappy with this, especially the sneaky way the whole thing was being handled, which includes, but is not limited to, trying to shut down the adjacent car park for unnamed "works" and signing an NDA in order to see the surveyors reports submitted to the insurance company. Should the latter prove that the tree is a danger, why not make the report public and allow some discussion of the situation? Legal experts are now involved. There's a further update here.
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