Daily Archives: June 5, 2006

Telephony

So.

I had a business meeting by phone scheduled for this morning. A meeting that I’ve been waiting for for some time now.

The phone rings. I pick it up. “Hi, it’s –”

And the phones cuts out.

I am not ashamed to say I threw the phone, I was so mad at it. (I threw it at something soft, and took the time to turn so that I aimed properly, but I threw it.)

I’m on my way out to buy (a) a replacement battery for the damn thing, and (b) a real phone with a cord that actually works to serve as backup.

It’s six years old. It’s done its time, both on the cradle and off. And it’s been sending us feeble “I don’t feel well” signals lately. But dying as soon as it’s taken off the cradle? Swan song.

UPDATE, 12:40 PM: New battery now charging. The salesman was surprised our battery lasted six years; he said they have a life of approximately three years. But the cord phone I bought? Only has a USB plug. Has to be exchanged for a Real Phone so I can actually use the damn thing as a backup phone on the main phone line, because of course there aren’t USB to phone jack adaptors that don’t cost more than the ruddy phone did. So it’s back out to the shops after Liam’s nap, so that we actually have a phone we can use before tomorrow.

::headdesk::

The Book Geek In Me Is Incoherent With Coolness

My Wicca book had an initial print run of, oh, let’s say, X in September 2005.

This May, they had to do a second print run of 1/2 X.

What does this mean? My books sells muchly. So much so that a second print run was called for nine months later.

The spellcraft book had a slightly larger initial run, so I don’t think it has reprinted yet. As for the green witch book, it’s a more specialised topic, so the print run for it is the smallest so far. I know you’re curious (or you ought to be in order to have the proper context to appreciate all this), so here’s a little fact: the average print run for a book in the New Age market is around 5,000. All three of mine were higher than that. The first was almost double it, in fact.

I was rather astonished, myself.

And I am such an industry geek.