My brain hurts

[desperance]

So I have finished the page proofs, and all I have to do now is get them back to my editor.

In America.

By tomorrow.

(Whoever schedules these things in the production office does not seem to have noticed that it can take a week either way, to post across the Atlantic; or else they think that overnight courier is as cheap for us as it is for them. Not so...)

Quite why publishing has not yet gone over to electronic editing and proofing, I am not sure (and yes, I know, some companies actually have - but not yet the big guys, or not mine; we still shift quantities of paper back and forth, with all the concomitant anxiety).

Good news: they say I can send corrections back electronically!

Bad news: they say by fax. I do not have a fax machine.

Good news: it is possible to scan documents into a computer, and fax from there!

Bad news: only if the computer is connected to the telephony system. My internet comes via a cable service.

Good news: there are e-fax companies, that will translate e-mail attachments into faxes! I only need to scan and send! And I do have a scanner!

Bad news: I have a Very Old scanner, that I haven't used because I couldn't ever find a Linux driver for it.

Good news: I can use it under Windows!

Bad news: no, I can't. It wants a parallel connection (I told you it was old). I have a parallel cable; alas, my computer? It has no parallel port...

*is stymied*

Truly, not quite sure what to do now. I could buy a new scanner; it might be silly not to have a scanner. Except, well, I have a Very Old scanner and have never noticed till now that it will not connect to my computer; that's a measure of how much I need a scanner, perhaps. And the cheapest way to buy a scanner these days appears to be to buy a printer/scanner/copier - and I really don't need another printer, I'd resent that.

Bah, humbug. I dunno...

Comments

[shewhomust.livejournal.com]

Do you by any chance know anyone who has a scanner and a computer and a telephone which talk to each other? Or anyone you could telephone to ask about such things?

Clue: yes, Chaz, you do.

[triciasullivan.livejournal.com]

So, they need the pages scanned and sent, so they can just print it out on their end? That's a bit antediluvian, isn't it?

Really sucks. I've never had that happen to me. Even years ago, I can remember simply e-mailing my editor the corrections and she'd put them in. She even offered to do it over the phone. I mean, are there a lot of corrections?

And, never mind the expense of couriers--it usually takes 2 days to America for some bizarre reason.

Could you just explain the situation and ask them for an alternative arrangement? I mean, you were waiting for that Fedex for ages, it's not like you've had much turnaround time. It seems like you're having to go through contortions.

I only recently got a scanner, because it came in the cheapo printer/scanner/copier that I had to buy when I started printing on DVD covers. Had to chuck my perfectly good old cheapo printer. It's a pain keeping up with the times on a shoestring!

[mabfan.livejournal.com]

Could you scan the document in, send those scans electronically to someone in the States, and have that person fax the documents to the publisher?

[clanwilliam.livejournal.com]

Could you find a service in the area that can fax it for you?

It's not going to be cheap, but it seems like the easiest option.

Alternatively, Argos have a fax machine for £50... (ow!)

[wakaba-chan.livejournal.com]

eBay may be a good port of call if you're looking for a cheap scanner or fax machine.

[desperance.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I know - but there's a difference between "As I'm here, could you do us a favour and fax a page to London?" and "I'm making a special trip down so's you can fax thirty-some pages to America for me..."

I was & am looking for an alternative.

[desperance.livejournal.com]

And, never mind the expense of couriers--it usually takes 2 days to America for some bizarre reason.

Indeed. I know one reason for that: someone was saying t'other day, they paid for a courier - who took the package across the Atlantic and then put it in the mail on the other side, as they didn't actually deliver to that particular bit of Texas...

[triciasullivan.livejournal.com]

Whatever happened to the good old Pony Express?

I hope you can work it out without incurring big expenses. Good luck!

[desperance.livejournal.com]

Is sorted. Is thanks to you. Thank you...

[bugshaw.livejournal.com]

autopope posted a few months ago about an amazing scanner he bought which makes this sort of thing a doddle. Except for the faxing part. But the scanner sounded great!

[triciasullivan.livejournal.com]

Well, I was exerting all my supernatural powers, but I had no idea they were in such good nick.

*blows on nails*

:-D

[birdsedge.livejournal.com]

It generally takes 2 days to America because you lose seven hours of Day one getting across the Atlantic with the time difference. They can often do New York or New Jersey in one or two days, anywhere else and you might find it takes even longer.

Or like the experience I blogged about recently... you pay thirty quid to overnight urgent documents to the arse end of Texas only to find that they fly them across the Atlantic and then PUT THEM IN THE POST. (Thank you DHL.)

[desperance.livejournal.com]

I know. I have been remembering that all day. And the price-tag. And (I think) the fact that it doesn't have a Linux driver. (The latter being my excuse, of course, for flinching away from the former...)

[desperance.livejournal.com]

That was you! I knew it was somebody. That is branded in my soul... (And I'm sure you should be suing them, it's outrageous!)

[green-knight.livejournal.com]

If you haven't got a canner, I'd reccommend the investment anyway. For 30-40 quid you can get a printer/scanner/coffeemaker/delete as applicable, and they're pretty decent beasts.

I've used mine only recently, and was pleasantly surprised by the sheer speed and quality of it. The printer part (HP) is pretty good, too, and should I ever want to make a copy of anything, I can do that, too.

[birdsedge.livejournal.com]

I should be suing them, you're right, but the guys who took delivery are still away on tour and I don't have the paperwork from their end... if, indeed, they kept it as they picked up the package (their work permits) on their way to the airport about 10 days after I sent it. I figure by the time I get it - if I get it - it will be too late to do much follow-up.

I've chalked it up to experience And Will Not Get Caught Again.

If the guys had not got their papers and had had to cancel a tour I would have sued the bollocks off DHL and so, I hope, would they.

Use your camera

[durham-rambler.livejournal.com]

Given that you have solved the problem this time, here's a suggestion about what to do next time:
The resolution of a fax machine is 200dpi so if your proofs were on US letter sized paper which is, I think, 11" x 8½" then that is in pixels 2200 x 1700. Now my digital camera takes pictures that are 3072 x 2304 pixels and I imagine your latest toy will be similar if not better. So photograph the pages then use an email-to-fax service, for example http://www.tpc.int/ to get it there.

You will need to install software as you will be sending graphics not a text message, and there are links on the TPC website for a number of operating systems, and the list starts with Linux.

Re: Use your camera

[desperance.livejournal.com]

Y'know? At one point during the extended panicky seek-for-a-solution that was yesterday, I did actually think of this. And then thought "Nah, don't be silly, photographs forsooth..."

I think I will experiment. Thanks for the link!