This is just to say...

[cleolinda]

I have a few links I want to talk about, but I feel too scattered at the moment to really pull those together. I will say, in terms of working on the "Vampires" e-book, that I sat down with a calendar and started working backwards from dates that are already set in stone:

1) New Moon comes out on 11/20 or somewhere around then, I don't know. That weekend, something.

2) My understanding is that we're going to record a podcast (not specifically about New Moon, but it will help to have seen it) that Sunday, 11/22.

3) I don't like to put out Movies in Fifteen Minutes entries until the Monday after a movie has come out, at the earliest--reader statements like "Now I don't have to see the movie!," while well-intended, are probably not going to endear me to whichever Studio Powers That Be. So I want to at least give any given movie a full weekend, since nowadays that's the most important time period financially anyway. SO MY POINT IS, I'm assuming that I can't not do "New Moon in Fifteen Minutes," so that would go up no earlier than 11/23.

4) I want to give myself at least a week of rest between the e-book and the Fifteen Minutes. Therefore, working backwards, I would want to have "Vampires" on Lulu by 11/16.

5) That's two and a half weeks or so from now. I know a lot more about the process of actually "publishing" the e-book now--how to convert the wonky footnotes to PDF (or who I need to do that for me, rather), how to navigate Lulu, and so on. But I would still like to give myself a week of padding to take care of problems, wait on people to get back to me on certain issues if necessary, do my obsessive proofreading, so on and so forth.

6) Therefore, I need to have a readable draft of "Vampires" by 11/9.

7) That's eleven days from now.

8) I've never made a deadline in my LIFE.

9) I did 90% of the work on Van Helsing and Dracula last year, though, when I was doing the previous, longer, more complicated incarnation of the e-book. It's mostly Twilight I'm dealing with right now. I hesitate to say "I can totally do this," in a Famous Last Words kind of way, but theoretically: I can totally do this.

10) Oh God I totally can't do this.

So basically, that's what's going on at the moment--I'm trying to work myself into an It's Go Time, Bitches mindset on the front end of the process and have plenty of emergency padding on the far end in case shit happens, because you know it totally will. I should probably refrain from testing Twilight merchandise during this time, in fact--sweetdragon tried some assorted Twilight chocolates the other day and they nearly killed HER.


(Zomg e-book! The Annotated Movies in Fifteen Minutes: Wizards!)

Comments

[xmyrin.livejournal.com]

wow, I never expected the next e-book so soon! I'm so excited! And another m15m? It's not Christmas yet!

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Well, we need the money, for all the financial catastrophes this year--I wanted to get these two out of the way and then get back to longer-term projects, like the novel(s). It's not going to be something I run into the ground.

[sunni-sideup.livejournal.com]

Have you considered including the theoretical "New Moon in Fifteen Minutes" in the Vampires e-book? That would extend your self-imposed deadline. :)

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Well, I didn't want to include anything that wasn't already out on DVD. In the far, far future, I've thought about putting Phantom of the Opera, V for Vendetta, and New Moon together ("Lurkers").

[sunni-sideup.livejournal.com]

Oh, how apt. XD

[litlover12.livejournal.com]

I like!

[rina2o6.livejournal.com]

Brilliant! Would 300, Troy and...I don't know - Wanted - be
("Abs")?

[manekikoneko.livejournal.com]

"Unintentional Homoeroticism"? 2/3 "Classic Bromances"?

[mommmaduck.livejournal.com]

Unintentional Homoeroticism had me loling for reals.

[oldfeatheryhat.livejournal.com]

ooh, King Arthur! that one is one of my favorites :) And totally gets you the "Unintentional Homoeroticism."

[skybreak-seeker.livejournal.com]

You can do it Cleo!

Go beyond the impossible and kick reason to the curb! That's the [strike]Gurren-dan[/strike] Team fail way!

*goes to get his miniature cheerleader robots*

[chulacabra.livejournal.com]

Did you see this on Neil Gaiman's journal?

[Journal as the opening to every Twilight book:]

All of my attempts at writing a new post had been in vain.

With ice in my heart, I stared at the blank text input field, then tabbed back to my inbox. Still empty. When was Mr. G going to send me something else to post?

Would I ever learn what he was up to in China? Would I live long enough for that?

The odds of that didn't look so great.

Somewhere, far, far away in the cold mountains of Chendgu, a panda sniffled.

(Oh, Edward...!)

It was written by Gaiman's assistant, but still.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Heeeee. All she's missing is some reference to how they're all going to die, they're totally totally going to die. TO PROTECT THOSE THEY LOVE.

[meggle.livejournal.com]

It's funny 'cause it was actually written by Gaimans web goblin. Who is a guy. Named Dan Guy.

[nicolars.livejournal.com]

You can do it! Just avoid any Twilight-related comestibles, and you should be good to go.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Aw, no Twilight Godiva? ) :

[nicolars.livejournal.com]

Is there going to be Twilight-related Godiva, for reals? I might even have to buy some of that, if only to have some sort of excuse to buy more chocolate.

[queenanthai.livejournal.com]

YES GODIVA

[corbyjane.livejournal.com]

The motto at the children's theatre where I work is "I can do hard things". There's a backstory involving a little girl who was teased in school who repeated this to herself everyday and then grew up to start a children's theatre, but it works for e-books, too.

I believe in you, Cleo, and your ability to do hard things! Rock on!

[newroticgirl.livejournal.com]

Oh I really like this.

[robinmc.livejournal.com]

I'm trying to think of the best way to strike a balance between "woohoo, go Cleo, you can do it!" cheerleader and "please don't beat yourself up if things don't go exactly to plan". So...yeah. I'm looking forward to reading all of this, whenever it may appear.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I keep trying to remind myself that if I don't make my own self-imposed deadline, it's not like I signed a contract or anything. These are just dates that fall together in an optimal way. But nothing blows up if I can't make it.

[unicornluvr.livejournal.com]

I'll trade. You can write my thesis for me. Deal?

. . .I'm going to be in grad school forever.

[elbales]

This.

[magicloaf.livejournal.com]

*where are those pom poms from my ashamed-to-admit cheerleading days?*

You can do it! You can do it!! :D

Feel better?

[litlover12.livejournal.com]

Aww. We only pressure because we love. You know that, right?

Right?

Well, we do. :-)

(In related news, I think I had half of Borders wondering why I couldn't stop grinning like an idiot at the endless "New Moon" video loop playing in the store today. As you will be prepared to hear, all I could think was "FURSPLOSION!")

[winters-queen.livejournal.com]

Whenever my roommate and I see anything werewolf'ish in movies and even during True Blood, we kept saying that and giggling.

[annlarimer.livejournal.com]

As always, volunteer to betawhatever if you need it.

[elendiari22.livejournal.com]

Come on Cleo, you can do it!

I just finished the e-book, by the way. Seriously, thank you: I needed to laugh that hard.

[iamsmr.livejournal.com]

Wooooo! I shall make a little flag of encouragement and wave it for you.

[akamarykate.livejournal.com]

Would a laugh help? Because I read this quote today and could not stop giggling:

"I am a huge fan of Stephenie Meyer's work and I intend to read everything she writes," Robert Tonner explains. "She is unbelievably talented and it's an honor to be able to work on this project." Tonner has released other characters from the film in addition to Edward and Bella. "I want to make them all," Robert Tonner admits. "I'm having such a blast reading the books and getting to know all of the characters. I'm also reviewing movie stills, sculpting and designing. I'm completely immersed in their world," he says.

[manekikoneko.livejournal.com]

Externally set deadlines like homework I almost always leave to the penultimate minute, and self-imposed deadlines I can't keep at all (every time I decided on homemade Christmas gifts, people are lucky to get them for Valentine's), so I really admire that you set a schedule for yourself at all. And I totally believe you can pull it off.

[shesnotallthere.livejournal.com]

Caroline is counting on you. :oP

[xerinmichellex.livejournal.com]

I'm totally with you in never meeting a deadline I've set for myself (except when I was in school). But it's still nice to have a goal to shoot for. I can't wait for this e-book!

rah-rah, sis-boom-whatever

[suzeclues12.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I had to drop out of cheerleading when I was 9 because I kept falling off the human pyramid they would stick me on top of (but I did not fall into a cup of tea - does this still make me bellaklutzable?).

Let no one say you can't backwards engineer the heck out of a deadline, Cleo! I say, shoot for 11/16 (met deadlines = giddiness in my world, they are so seldom met) - but know we will be happy if we get it before Christmas (or Valentine's Day, even).....since it will suite our gift-giving tendencies on both occasions.

Now, if I could only figure out how to get the WIZARDS pdf to go onto my palm PDA (reading from computer, not so easy in bank lines, etc.).

[moriahbard.livejournal.com]

If you don't meet the deadline, you don't meet the deadline. No big. I, for one, promise not to pester and whine if it's late. I still have your first ebook to enjoy, after all!

Speaking of, I saw this and it reminded me of you: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=33462609&ref=cat2_gallery_11

Best of luck in your ebooking, podcasting, and parodying endeavors! I bet you'll be more productive than you think.

[amaz0n-princess.livejournal.com]

You can TOTALLY do this. because you are AWESOME. Just sayin. :)

[darkfrog24.livejournal.com]

You absolutely can not do "New Moon in Fifteen Minutes" if that's what you want to not do!

[acaciakitty.livejournal.com]

You should probably get out your slickest pair of sunglasses. I always find that if I put my sunglasses on and THEN say "It's Go Time, Bitches" my productivity is up by %75 more than it is sans sunglasses. ^_^

You can do it! We believe in you!

[misachan.livejournal.com]

*constructs imaginary You Can Do It! banner!*

[esperion.livejournal.com]

GO! GO! CLEEEEE-O!

*Shakes pompoms*