time to temp

Ah well. All good things come to an end. Writing full-time was incredible, and now the bubble has burst.

Remember Ancient Civs? I was writing a volume for a Junior Encyclopedia series, to be published by Disney Worldwide Publishing. I wrote my first book in the project shortly before we moved, and that income allowed us to not work for six weeks when we first got here. Brilliant.

I was immediately offered a second book, and was supposed to start work in early September. September turned to October, and then November. In November, they asked for the first step, instant turnaround, so it could be approved before the holidays. (Yeah, right.)

In December they said January. Throughout January they said "hopefully soon".

Last week my editor - who is also a freelancer - said, "Disney has turned into a black hole of information. If you're offered other work, don't turn it down." Hmm.

Today, she said goodbye, at least for now.

From the email I just received from the project coordinator:

With the recent restructuring at Disney, the Encyclopedia project has been suspended.

This means that the projects 'in progress', are now 'on stand-by', with the obvious fear that it may become permanent.

We are keeping our fingers crossed that the Encyclopedia project will one day continue in some form, for everyone has worked so hard on such a wonderful concept.

This means the volumes we already completed may never be published, and a big chunk of my projected income just disappeared. What a drag.

On the other hand... It was enormously challenging and rewarding work, I learned a lot, added a great credit to my writing resume, alleviated tons of stress and pressure from our first weeks in Canada, and learned what it's like to be a full-time writer. In addition, the editor and I really enjoyed working together, and she'll likely call me for future work. There's a lot to be happy about.

Now it's time to earn some money. My Kids On Wheels work is fun and interesting, but not well paid.

Readers in the GTA with connections to copyediting, proofreading or word processing are invited to email. Next week: temp agencies.