It seems that having a very fixed idea about how I...

It seems that having a very fixed idea about how I want the new TFP site to look is not a Good Thing. It's not actually a Bad Thing, it just slows the process a bit but the good news is that I think we're there! Or at least will be pretty soon. Full site up and running in a month starting some time from next week onwards with a bit of luck. And I think the luck-to-shit balance has got to be tipping in my favour some time soon so fingers crossed.

Anyway, I discovered a lovely parcel of books when I got home today (makes a change from cases of cheap wine) and I was delighted as they are my shelf copies of all the books we've published so far. I try to keep copies in my shed-type-thing so that I have them to refer to or send out - or simply to read again. And in a week that's turning out to be quite hectic I feel the need to return to one of my favourites.

When I first read the manuscript of this book, I loved the following line:

'While I wasn't quite ready to donate my kidney to the first semi-attractive woman to come along, I was willing to negotiate.'

It was on the first page and by the time I'd read to the bottom of that page I knew I would finish the manuscript. And that I would love it. So then, my question to you is which book is it?

Monday, Monday, (ba-da ba-da-da-da)

Monday. It comes round, regular as clockwork doesn't it? It seems like only a week since the last one and here we are again.

Busy day again at TFP HQ. I had an interesting, top secret meeting in the morning which was very informative (more soon) followed by a delicious lunch with the lovely Rosalia from Graphicom.

It's no secret that 4-colour printing is generally pretty expensive and most publishers look to print overseas to reduce their cost, traditionally looking to the Far East. The trouble with printing in the Far East (apart from the fact that some printers veto books on sex as we found out to our cost) is that you need to allow so long for shipping. However, an alternative is to print in Europe, where the shipping times are more reasonable (unless you print in August when all the lucky sods are on holiday) and the prices are extremely competitive. Rosalia, from the Verona-based Graphicom takes a far more liberal approach to the 'S' word and did a fantastic job for us withGet Dead so lunch was an opportunity to discuss Get Dead's sister book, Get Sex, due for publication in February 2008.

So lunch was very useful from a print placement point of view but there's no denying that in short, Heather and I spent an enjoyable hour or so eating delicious food and discussing sex and Italian men before heading back to the office and sobering up. Sometimes this job doesn't seem so bad after all.

Code Word Goody

Well, Peter over at Naked Blog reckons the 'Jade Goody N*a*k*e*d' search string has cost him a fortune in bandwidth charges, but I feel this will pale in comparison to the cost to Harper Collins who have decided to pull the paperback of Jade's autobiography from its scheduled publication in February. Over at his blog (yes he's back, Pack-fans), Scott muses that HC will have already printed the books so the cost will be considerable but I'm not sure why they are pulling the book anyway. Surely anyone who would have previously been interested in 26-year-old Jade's autobiography will not be swayed by the media-driven charges of racism levied against her and in fact, if her agent-I-mean-Jade plays it right, it could all work in her favour. I don't know how much HC paid as an advance for the book but in these days of astonishing celebrity advances I would imagine HC will be smarting at this recent turn of events. I'm tempted to contact HC to see if we can purchase the books at cost price - I reckon I could make a fortune on eBay. Anyone from HC reading? I'm serious.

Shed Working

I'm working at home today and what a lovely view it is too:





Oh no, hang on, wrong picture. Here we are:

Working in my office in the garden when the world is white outside is very pleasant. Talking of which, there's a great blog over here for anyone working from home - particularly if it's from a shed-type thing like mine. The downloadable magazine is a great read and includes advice on how to Feng Shui your shed if you are so inclined. I might put that on the back burner for now though.

Tragic is the word that springs to mind

Today I emerged from under the Friday Project Desk to be confronted with back to back meetings. 10.30, meeting with potential web designer, 12.00 meeting with my old boss from back in my Orion days, now MD ofCyan Communications, 1.00 meeting with journalist writing piece for Publishers Weekly, 3.00 meeting with the Talented Mr Ripley who handles our sales and distribution relationship with PanMac, 4.45 jump in a cab over to the Cut in Waterloo where there's some rather nice offices available, 6.00 on the train to get home in time forCaptain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs with phone calls to one author and one chairman en route.
Later, 'relaxing' at home with laptop and copy of the Bookseller I find myself entertained by Sally Hughes'category preview of the food and drink titles to watch for 2007. The Bookseller is a trade magazine so the category preview is aimed at the retailer rather than the reader and a good review may encourage retailers to stock the book. I wonder then what the uptake will be of The Desperate Housewives Cookbook? I hope Sally won't mind me quoting her review here as I enjoyed it very much.

'Tragic is the word that springs to mind, but it is never wise to overestimate the taste of the general public. "They have wildly different personalities, but the ladies of Wisteria Lane have one thing in common: food," states the pre-publicity. Difficult to believe I would have thought, given that they are all stick-thin, but then a quick look at the recipe list (Turkey, Muenster and Coleslaw wraps) may give a clue. You will need to stock at least one copy to mock in your quieter periods, if for nothing else.'

The Desperate Housewives Cookbook.
Category: cooking/cuisine.
Sub-category: mocking in quiet periods.

Servers me right

So, I start posting more regularly on Vox like *everyone* tells me to and look what happens. Gone. Kaput.Vermooshen. (Yes, vermooshen.) The server revolted causing all manner of problems, most of which are frankly too boring to relate here. All I know is I post some fascinating tales of Triop cultivation and all server hell breaks loose. I knew I couldn't trust those pesky crustaceans.

Anyway, the good news is I've set up this nifty little blog so that you aren't left wanting during the Friday Project site revamp. Hopefully the main site will be back up and running in a week or so but I'll keep you posted right here, right now. Or maybe later. Let's see.