A new day...

[eurydicebound]

Okay. Today, I herefore resolve to actually use my journal for more work related things. I need to vent about that stuff too, and it's typically far more entertaining for my readers. :)

Today I'm trying to finish up a chapter for Book X, about which nothing may be revealed. I know, tres boring for you guys. It's going to be good though, I think. I've sent in one chapter already and got lots of good, positive feedback on it, so that's a good thing. I think this one will be similarly well received.

I'm also working on redlines for Ex Machina. I've got about a day of work left in them, and I'm aching to be done with it. This is by far the hardest thing I've worked on, if only because the project initially hit just about when things went bad last year, and so all that emotion and ickyness pops up again for me whenever I work on it. It's better than it was initially, but I'll be so glad just to be done. I think it's going to kick much booty. Mine isn't a traditional "cyberpunk" setting, but it still is cyberpunk for all that.

Other than this, I am slotted to do the editing for Eldritch Ass Kicking, written by a friend of mine, Nathan Hill, and being published by Key 20 Games. Anyone who reads jasonlblair's journal will probably have seen it mentioned. It's a cute little thing, and I like it quite a bit. I'm also up for maliszew's Fourth Millenium project as an editor. (James, I haven't forgotten to take a look at that. I promise, it's still on my list and I'll get to it soon as may be). I'm also editing a book for FanPro, for The Dark Eye series. And that's just right now. Next month I'll be editing God's own selection of GOO books, so that should be entertaining. :)

And now, since I'm so behind on questions, a quick set from maliszew. Sorry I'm so behind on these. I haven't forgotten them if you've given them to me. I've just been otherwise distracted.



1. Do you believe editors are an underappreciated and -- more importantly -- underdeveloped element of the game publishing industry?

Yes, I do. I think we rely on line developers to be editors, and writers to be editors, and wives and spouses to be editors instead of spending the money on an editor and having done with it. The thing that most people don't realize is that editors don't just fix typos. A good editor will handle content and organization and all that readability stuff that is necessary in a game book. By hiring the right editor, you can make back that money in sales you'll lose because of poor organization or presentation of the information in the book -- and it does lose sales.

An example for me personally was Misguided Games. Here's a book with the best production values out there, with a good idea and a system that is servicable at least and pretty well suited to the material at best. It's got some original ideas in the setting, and could have been a really great book. Lewis marketed the hell out of that line, and he had a lot of people excited about it. I was one of them, until I started trying to read the thing.

The organization of his chapters, of the information presented, all of it was enough to make me want to weep. I had the devil of a time figuring out how it all was supposed to work, and I look at game systems for a living. The fiction was pretty good, but the history chapter rambled. Over and over it shot itself in the foot and made it hard for even the fans who really wanted to like to setting and system to get a handle on it. I firmly believe that with a better editor (and Lewis tried to hire someone good, don't get me wrong) -- a more aggressive editor -- the line would have sold far better and Misguided Games might still be publishing. I did edit the last book for the line, but it has not come out so far and may never.

At least one company I work from time to time has only a minimal amount budgeted for editing, and no matter how good my work is, that's the most I'll get. The reason is that it simply isn't a priority for them. I think, though, that if they were to take some of that responsibilitiy off their developers, put more of it on editors with whom they develop a long-term working relationship, and give those editors enough to stay loyal, that their sales would increase at least enough to compensate the extra effort. Perhaps not immediately, but in the long run.

2. What's the origin of your online handle?

Heh. Well, see, my husband got me started in gaming. The longest (and one of the best) games I ever played was set in his homebrew setting called Evernor. The pantheon of this setting was based around law and chaos rather than good/evil, and Anaka was the name of the Goddess of Chaos, the most powerful of all the Chaotic entities and the opposite of Tysrael, the God of Law. She was one of the big adversaries in the game we played; for at least half of those six years, we thought she was the biggest bitch-queen in the universe. But then, things weren't always as they seemed, and she ended up briefly allying with us against someone else.

Anyway, so as a joke, I started adopting the name "Anaka," drawn from "anarchy" on message boards way back in my BBS days, often signing with the nickname "Lady Chaos" as well. Then, of course, in later days that seemed way too faux goth/metal, so I ended up going with Lady Anaka wherever Anaka was already taken. I also end up using it as a character name with a fair amount of regularity. I also named my dog that, so that I'd never be tempted to use it to name a daughter.

In truth, I don't think I'm nearly aligned enough with Chaos to lay claim to it. I like it anyway, though. I'll even answer to it in person. :)

3. Is there a product you've worked on that you're especially proud of?

Ooh. A number of them. The Welcome to Potter's Lake book that's now vanished from the face of the earth. That was my first one, I think. The section I wrote for Shadows of North America, and the chapter of SOTA: 2063. I got a lot of positive comments on those, and it made me feel really good. More recently, Slayers D20 and Ex Machina. When I'm not questioning whether the latter sucks or not, I feel pretty proud of it, and frankly, David and I kicked ass with Slayers d20.

4. How do you like your new car?

I like it. It's cute and it goes vroom and it doesn't guzzle gas, and all of these are pleasant changes. I have to get the freon checked before GTS, and I have a new stereo I want to put in and I want to get the windows tinted so it'll be less of a terrarium in the winter, but I'm pretty fond of it overall. It's not my ideal car, but it'll do. :)

5. The last year has been, to say the least, a difficult one for you. Now that 2003 is over, do you have good reason to expect that 2004 will be better for you personally and professionally?

Professionally? It should be. The only reason it wouldn't be is if WotC slid me over to their "do not call" list, and I don't think they have. I certainly hope not, anyway. I'm going to have a lot of stuff I've been working on for a long time come out this year, so in that way, at least, it should be far more rewarding.

Personally? Again, it should be. One way or the other. We're both trying to work it out, David's panic attacks have been resolved and are gone, and we're moving out of my mom's house this summer. I've even found a good school for my children in one of the cities we're considering. As long as David gets employed during the summer, everything should turn out better, even if the year ends in divorce. Regardless, it would take death, famine, or ruin to more negatively impact my year in 2004 than what I've already dealt with.

Comments

[maliszew.livejournal.com]

Take your time; we'll wait for you. :)