Blue Lines, or, James the Stupid Guy

So, evidently, I'm an idiot.

A couple of days ago, my editor calls me, her voice filled with excitement. Before I can say a word, she rattles off something like, "James, we got the blue lines for the ARC today and they look so awesome and as your editor I feel I must tell you about the mistakes we found but don't worry because it's nothing major and we're going to tell them to go forward if you're okay with it and . . ."

At this point, I sheepishly interjected and asked, "What are blue lines?"

I was met with the silence of a sealed grave.

"Hello?" I asked.

Another silence. Then: "You don't know what blue lines are?"

Me: "I have no idea what that is."

Lisa: "You're an idiot."

Okay, it didn't go quite like that, but close. Now, I'm sure many of you know what blue lines are, unlike me, the Stupid Guy. But in case you don't, I shall educate you.

Blue lines (and I have no idea where the words came from) are the bound version of whatever item is being published (in this case, my ARCs - Advance Reader Copies) that are sent to the publisher by the printer before they move forward with the full print run. In other words, the printer sent an ARC, just like it will look in the end, to my publisher for one final review before they start printing them in loads.

That's what blue lines are. Is. Whatever. Lisa wasn't kind enough to tell my WHY they are called blue lines. Could any term sound more random? Okay, fine. From now on, my pants will be known as "duck platters" and my computer will be known as "potato rigormortis." Makes as much sense to me. UPDATE: Lisa explains the origin of "blue lines" in the comments.

Anyway, the ARCs are in full production and should be done in a couple of weeks. Sweet!

Okay, now that I am obviously running out of interesting things to talk about, I'll start doing more Question and Answer posts. I've saved up any questions I've received so far, and I will answer them one by one. If ever you have a question on which you'd like me to pontificate, please just post it in the comments at any time. I save them and will hit them in order.

And now, for your viewing pleasure, especially any Star Wars fans, please go and watch this video: CLICK HERE. Be sure and watch the whole 2 minutes or you'll miss the "Cantina" part.

Have a great day.