And...again

So I'd sent off the last round of changes to my agent on the one middle grade manuscript before we went on holiday to Florida. I hadn't heard anything, so I sent him an email on Friday to ask for a status update (assuming he'd sent it on to the editor that had asked to see it) but I heard back from him today that he's got another round of changes he wants done before he wants to send it off again. Probably about 2 or 3 days worth of work on it, but urgh, if he'd let me know earlier, it would've been done by now. So that's this afternoon and the next two days sorted, I suppose. Most of it is fine. One bit is a wee bit annoying as he's having me change the gender of one character back to what I had it as originally...so, yeah. I like him a lot but it does seem like he's sometimes very busy and/or easily distracted.

It'll be okay. Just a little frustrating.

On the other mg fantasy, I think we're giving up on the one publisher (for this book, anyway) that kept asking for loads of changes (more changes than I'd ever had anyone ask for before a contract). But now I need to finish rippling through the good changes they asked for before we can send it out to anyone else. So that'll be the next thing. I was holding off until I got a kind of definite answer as, if they did pick it up, I didn't want to have re-do bits as they seem quite picky.

In positive news, someone bought a wand in my Etsy store today. They contacted me last night asking what I had already made up and I sent a picture and they wanted one. So I mailed that off today. I haven't actually done any active stuff in the shop in months and months -- the only thing still listed is for custom wands -- so that was a welcome bit of something in an otherwise grey day. Maybe I should list the handful of complete ones I have when I get a chance. I just hadn't bothered even thinking about it.

...And dropped little dude off at 3:30 am this morning for him to jet off to Vienna for a school trip (where, happily, it is sunnier and warmer). Jealous! I've never been there. He's going to have an amazing time. It's the first time he's been out of the country without one of us with him, so it is freaking me out just a tiny bit. Glad the school is posting lots of pictures!

I never had cool stuff like that when I was little. Of course, I grew up dead poor and in the US in a backwater part of the country, so it's not a surprise. I'm glad we can do things for him that neither one of us had growing up. It still feels unreal sometimes. I'm still the person that will shop for my clothes in a thrift store/charity shop. Sometimes it feels really strange when I'm out there chatting with the other mums and they are talking about designer this and ski chalet that and I'm, like, yeah, I got this dress for £5 at Oxfam...

I don't know that I'll ever adjust. And if the hubby's business stuff goes the way it's supposed to hopefully go, in a few years we could be doing really, really well. I can't even imagine it, honestly.

Oh! Did have one more good bit of news. The publisher of my third book has told me that they've (finally) sold through the hardcovers and are going to issue a paperback of it. AND they are planning on doing a new cover (the original cover wasn't all that well received, though the reviews were good). That'll be in September. I sent over a few ideas. Excited to see what they come up with. It's definitely good news as that's probably my fav book out of the ones I've written and it's really struggled in the market. Hardly any stores stocked it, though it seems like it did okay in libraries. A good cover can make a difference. Crossing fingers...