I have just crawled out of a nice toasty half-hour bubble bath in the middle of the afternoon. I was reading a romance novel in there. I was legitimately on the clock. The only thing missing was chocolate bonbons.
Life is good.
I wish I had your clock.
Hold the bon-bons, though. I’m watching my waistline. (Watching it grow!)
Wait! I don’t like romance novels either! Just the bubble bath, I guess.
No, it’s hard to get the bubbles off. Tell you what – next time just call me and I’ll come scrub your back, okay? (Your loofah or mine?)
grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr…
OK I’m jealous. How did you manage to do this while on the clock? A nice, long bubble bath sounds like heaven right now. I even cleaned my bathroom yesterday! Now I’m going to have to stop on the way home and pick up one of my trashy romance magazines to read while in the tub. Come on 5 o’clock!
Rrrrroowwwwrr!
Wow, I can’t remember the last time I took a bubble bath…
Thanks for reminding me- I know what I’m doing tonight! I’ll have to stop on the way home to get a trashy romance novel though. For some strange reason, that’s the best bubble bath reading material.
Oh, and I’ll get a bottle of wine, too.
I might not be on the clock, but since it’s my business I get to go home whenever I want.
Bye! 
Sorry for the delay in replying, Shanin. After I got out of the tub, I posted, then retreated to the couch (still “al fresco,” if you know what I mean – I prefer to air-dry) to finish the last hundred pages – still on the clock.
I love to read, but I don’t care for romance novels – they have to pay me to read them! I’m a freelance copyeditor. Most of my work is on college textbooks, but one client send me fiction – mostly romances, but the occasional juicy mystery. (Several months ago I had a chance to edit a Famous Author’s next novel, but (DAMNDAMNDAMN) I was way overbooked already and there was no way to accept the job.)
Anyway, when I copyedit fiction, the first step is to simply read the manuscript, to get familiar with the story and the characters; it clues me in to possible problems when I actually sit down with blue pencil in hand to edit. And I can do that first read anywhere – usually on the couch, but sometimes outside if it’s a nice day. I’ve worked in the hammock, in bed (hush now), and, like this afternoon, in the nude – but this was my first time working in the bathtub and I thought it would be nice to mark the occasion.
And actually, the best part is this – the novel I’m editing is a sequel, which means that I have to read the preceding book so I can catch inconsistencies from book to book. I was reading the previous book with Mr. Bubble looking over my (creamy white) shoulder – I still have to do the “pleasure read” of the actual manuscript. Oh the drudgery. 
Sorry for the delay in replying, Shanin. After I got out of the tub, I posted, then retreated to the couch (still “al fresco,” if you know what I mean – I prefer to air-dry) to finish the last hundred pages – still on the clock.
I love to read, but I don’t care for romance novels – they have to pay me to read them! I’m a freelance copyeditor. Most of my work is on college textbooks, but one client send me fiction – mostly romances, but the occasional juicy mystery. (Several months ago I had a chance to edit a Famous Author’s next novel, but (DAMNDAMNDAMN) I was way overbooked already and there was no way to accept the job.)
Anyway, when I copyedit fiction, the first step is to simply read the manuscript, to get familiar with the story and the characters; it clues me in to possible problems when I actually sit down with blue pencil in hand to edit. And I can do that first read anywhere – usually on the couch, but sometimes outside if it’s a nice day. I’ve worked in the hammock, in bed (hush now), and, like this afternoon, in the nude – but this was my first time working in the bathtub and I thought it would be nice to mark the occasion.
And actually, the best part is this – the novel I’m editing is a sequel, which means that I have to read the preceding book so I can catch inconsistencies from book to book. I was reading the previous book with Mr. Bubble looking over my (creamy white) shoulder – I still have to do the “pleasure read” of the actual manuscript. Oh the drudgery.
I have no idea how that happened. I have no idea how that happened.
I was in the Navy and had just spent the day crawling under the floor tiles pulling out useless cables and pulling in useful cables. By the time I got off work I was dirty, dusty, sweaty, gross and disgusting. So I figured it was time to do the bubble bath thing.
I called up the guy I was dating to tell him the date was off, bought a bottle of wine at the package store, ran the water, grabbed a book, my ashtray and cigarettes, the telephone, and settled in for a soak.
Ten pages later I was showering off. I was totally and completely bored out of my skull!
Never tried again, but am glad you guys enjoy it
Oh, Scarlett, that sounds like my ideal job! To be paid to read! How does one get to do that??? (I’ve always thought I’d be a good editor, since I am picky as hell about grammar, spelling and sentence structure.)
Well, a lot of copyeditors believe that there’s a copyediting “gene”; that is, you either have the innate ability to be a good editor or you don’t. There’s more to it than being a grammar and spelling nut; it’s important to serve the author and the reader, which often involves abandoning one’s personal bugaboos.
For anyone who’s serious about checking out copyediting as a possible career, Karen Judd’s book Copyediting: A Practical Guide is a must-read. Pay special attention to Chapter 1; I knew after reading that chapter that I was born to copyedit. One caveat: it’s difficult to start out as a freelance copyeditor without in-house experience. I was forced to go that route because I live in the middle of nowhere, and relocating to get an entry-level job wasn’t an option. But starting freelance from scratch is definitely not the norm.
Slight hijack:
Cool sigline.
We now return you to the thread already progress.
I’ve always wanted to be a copyeditor too! Right now I’m working as an editor for a construction specifier, but talk about boring material! Granted, it’s a pretty cushy job, but I’d love to work out of my house. How did you get started in freelance editing?
Well, first I boned up with Judd and the Chicago Manual, then I got a copy of Literary Market Place and chose about 40 book packagers to send my résumé to. I followed up with phone calls and got a few copyediting tests as a result. One of those tests snagged me my first client and I was in.
It’s been 5+ years since then, and now I have 6 regular clients who keep me pretty busy. I’m making a little less than at the “real job” that I quit to freelance full-time, but the trade-offs are well worth it.