Well, November is packed with (writing/editing) work:

* Freelance editing project, at my day-job rate.
* Starting DFRPG edit work Real Soon Now. [1]
* Working on STotC at odd moments. [2]
* UA PDF project progressing. [3]
* Day-job editing of many, many 2 yr old DOCs.
* Once again, pondering Hyperworld. [4]

I think that this weekend is the last anyone will see me in a social context until December.

NOTES:
[1] That would be the Dresden Files RPG.
[2] That would be the Strange Tales of the Century sourcebook.
[3] That would be the Thin Black Line, the Order of Saint Cecil sourcebook.
[4] That would be the revisiting of my "Hyperworld vs. the Invadroids" CiaB. . . and a backdoor new edition of T&J under the PDQ# rubric.

So, from doing not much of anything, I am suddenly editing two monster projects:

#1. The Dresden Files RPG. I've been pitching in a bit with the other editors for the past month/month and a half on the manuscript, editing what chapters I can in a piecemeal fashion, reshaping the text presentation (not the rules; that is left up to better system-heads than mine) in preparation for the full-on, chapter-by-chapter "tone and continuity pass" I'll be doing in November, before the book goes to layout.

I really dig that Fred and the team dug my idea that the DFRPG is Billy's attempt to write a new version of Dracula for the Dresdenverse. (That is, a handbook/Dummies Guide for whacking nastybads.) HOWEVER, this means that much of the text -- written over several years, by diverse hands -- needs to be restructured, so (since it's my fault) I'm trying to pitch in and smooth the process.

An interesting thing: the book is theoretically being written between Small Favor and Turn Coat. Mostly because SmF came out JUST as we were finalizing "canon issues." Then, in the fulness of time, TC came out -- and we're too far along in the process to add new stuff, since we're getting close to PUB.

Making sure that the game is back-compatible with the new stuff in TC, without actually going there, has been a fun and interesting challenge.

#2. Strange Tales of the Century. Let me just say that I love ratmmjess with a mighty man-love. So everything I say after this, take that into account. IT'S SAID WITH LOVE!

Now, see this post of his first. Go ahead, I'll wait.

. . .

Back?

Jess dropped a manuscript 157% over projected wordcount, because he's a VERY NAUGHTY BOY.

And it's all awesome.

So, as editor, I am faced with a very, very CRAP position: I need to tighten the text up -- but every cut is a razorslice against my fanboy skin.

LISTEN UP, NON-GAMERS: Are you pissed you haven't been able to get a copy of The Encyclopedia of Fantastic Victoriana? Upset that The Encyclopedia of Pulp Heroes hasn't yet been published?

You need Strange Tales of the Century -- when we're done with it.

Sure, there will be gamey-stuff in the book, but the lion's share of text is collecting, analyzing, and reifying (pulp) fictional archetypes, with numerous examples, for the time period from (at least) 1850 to 1950.

I'm talking about HUNDREDS of pages that aren't specifically game-oriented. A casual non-gamer reader will still get a tremendous amount of value from this book.

When it's done. Which is what I'm working on.

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Lastly, I sent in three pitches for the Unknown Armies call for ideas for 3 PDFs. Because, hey, It's UA, and I loves me some UA.

My three pitches (djinn, thin black line, and perchance) are substantially mostly stuff that's been sitting on my harddrive since the UA heyday.

(bibliorex, ping me.)

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So, yeah, that's the State of the Chad at the mo. Busy, busy, busy; wrapped in text; wielding the Blue Pencil.