Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Happy Natal Day, Mr. Blake

I still have my WWWBD? page with the red dragon pinned to my bulletin board. It's good to remember how filled with pain and rejection his life was, yet he soldiered on, confident in his vision. My co-editor and I have finally received a thumbs down on our Old English charms volume from the publisher who has been reviewing it since May, so we begin the slow process of submitting it to a new academic publisher and then once again waiting, waiting. So it goes.

...A truth that’s told with bad intent
Beats all the Lies you can invent.
It is right it should be so;
Man was made for Joy and Woe;
And when this we rightly know
Thro’ the World we safely go...

Every Night and every Morn
Some to Misery are Born.
Every Morn and every Night
Some are Born to sweet delight.
Some are Born to sweet delight,
Some are Born to Endless Night...


(from Auguries of Innocence)

3 comments:

Gene Kannenberg, Jr. said...

Argh - that's got to be more than frustrating (to say the least) about the charms collection, both about the result and the wait. I know how much work you've both put into it so far.

This publisher obviously doesn't know a good thing when they see it (or, I suppose, it might not "fit their publishing profile" or some such). But I'm confident it will get picked up by another publisher. þæs ofereode, þisses swa mæg!

C. Margery Kempe said...

Thanks, Deor! :-)

It really is frustrating because we had to contact him repeatedly -- at first he said he had no record of the submission (we handed it to him on a CD at Kazoo), then he found it, then we asked again (after a couple of months) if it was under review and finally today, we hear "no." Rejection is an expected part of the process, but do they have to make it extra frustrating? I guess they do.

CL said...

Man, that's awful...I can take the rejection. It's the dicking around and waiting I can't stand. Say yes or no and let me move on!!

Well, think of it this way...now that you know what a jerk this guy is, aren't you glad he didn't say yes? Imagine the frustration! MNow a better publisher will come along...wait and see! :-)