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Friend in Need
Sep. 15th, 2012 03:28 pmEditrx, the woman who copyedited two of my novels so sensitively and brilliantly, needs help with a medical emergency. Here is her story, along with a PayPal link (righthand side of the page).*
She is a hardworking woman with chronic illness who also makes jewelry and the fabulous little Knitting Markers,** and is offering to barter work (and even family heirlooms - she's got a whole collection of Vintage 50s & 60s designer dresses from her mother) in exchange for much-needed funds.
A lot of people in the community have already heard about this, and either boosted signal, sent funds, or both. But I wanted to be sure to do my part. Nancy copyedited both THE FALL OF THE KINGS and then THE PRIVILEGE OF THE SWORD for me (and Delia). She never made me scream in horror, and very often made things better. She also encouraged me to call her at weird times of day and night to ask her questions about formatting and managing my Word document of the final ms., and was unerringly patient and a damned good explainer!
And only last month - while it turned out she and her husband were in the middle of their move from their beloved old house to a smaller, more affordable place - they responded immediately to my note asking for a copy of the Copyeditor's StyleSheet to KINGS that I could share with my director as we started breaking down that book for our next audiobook production. If I'd realized they were in the middle of a move, I wouldn't have bothered them - but I didn't know, and because she was out of range, he sent me what I needed immediately.
That's the kind of folks they are. I know so many people are struggling right now, and if you're one of them, it's OK; just boost signal or send good wishes. But if you've been taken out to a good dinner recently, or - like me - had a friend put you up so you didn't need to pay for a hotel room . . . well, maybe that saving can get passed along now.
I feel truly lucky to have enough to be able to do this - especially now, at Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, which we begin celebrating Sunday night. One of the ways you observe the holiday is to give Tzedakah - usually translated as "charity," but with roots in the Hebrew words for Justice and Walking the Right Path.
I'll try to post more about the holiday this week; but for now: May you all have a sweet and a healthy and a happy new year. And may you be blessed with the great blessing of being able to give something, whatever it may be, more often than you need to ask for help. And when you ask for help, may you feel strong in asking, not diminished.
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* On my FaceBook page (which you're welcome to join), someone wrote:
I will attest that her knitting bracelets are wonderful. I bought one a few years ago. It works fabulously to keep track of which row you're on and it's so pretty, you'll want to wear it as jewelry. She also has a book on Lupus, if someone needs information about that. She wrote it from personal experience.
**If you want to send a substantial sum as a check, so that PayPal doesn't eat their big percentage, write her directly via her LJ, so she can send you her postal address.
She is a hardworking woman with chronic illness who also makes jewelry and the fabulous little Knitting Markers,** and is offering to barter work (and even family heirlooms - she's got a whole collection of Vintage 50s & 60s designer dresses from her mother) in exchange for much-needed funds.
A lot of people in the community have already heard about this, and either boosted signal, sent funds, or both. But I wanted to be sure to do my part. Nancy copyedited both THE FALL OF THE KINGS and then THE PRIVILEGE OF THE SWORD for me (and Delia). She never made me scream in horror, and very often made things better. She also encouraged me to call her at weird times of day and night to ask her questions about formatting and managing my Word document of the final ms., and was unerringly patient and a damned good explainer!
And only last month - while it turned out she and her husband were in the middle of their move from their beloved old house to a smaller, more affordable place - they responded immediately to my note asking for a copy of the Copyeditor's StyleSheet to KINGS that I could share with my director as we started breaking down that book for our next audiobook production. If I'd realized they were in the middle of a move, I wouldn't have bothered them - but I didn't know, and because she was out of range, he sent me what I needed immediately.
That's the kind of folks they are. I know so many people are struggling right now, and if you're one of them, it's OK; just boost signal or send good wishes. But if you've been taken out to a good dinner recently, or - like me - had a friend put you up so you didn't need to pay for a hotel room . . . well, maybe that saving can get passed along now.
I feel truly lucky to have enough to be able to do this - especially now, at Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, which we begin celebrating Sunday night. One of the ways you observe the holiday is to give Tzedakah - usually translated as "charity," but with roots in the Hebrew words for Justice and Walking the Right Path.
I'll try to post more about the holiday this week; but for now: May you all have a sweet and a healthy and a happy new year. And may you be blessed with the great blessing of being able to give something, whatever it may be, more often than you need to ask for help. And when you ask for help, may you feel strong in asking, not diminished.
------------------------
* On my FaceBook page (which you're welcome to join), someone wrote:
I will attest that her knitting bracelets are wonderful. I bought one a few years ago. It works fabulously to keep track of which row you're on and it's so pretty, you'll want to wear it as jewelry. She also has a book on Lupus, if someone needs information about that. She wrote it from personal experience.
**If you want to send a substantial sum as a check, so that PayPal doesn't eat their big percentage, write her directly via her LJ, so she can send you her postal address.