Daynote - Tue 4 Nov

I had a great time at the Edinburgh Writer's Club last night, chatting to a room full of writers who had a lot of questions: about writing craft, about the industry, about query letters, you name it. It was great fun, and hopefully I managed to provide a good mix of useful information, morale-boosting encouragement and realism. Huge thanks to Zebib K. Abraham for inviting me and organising the session. If you're an Edinburgh-based author, I can recommend the experience.

ON DECK: More page proofs this morning and another 70 or so pages nailed. The error rate is still entirely reasonable and, so far, it's about 70% minor continuity and corrections rather than outright typos. But nothing reminds you how many damn words are in a book like doing page proofs, since you're reading every word and sentence and trying very, very hard not to skim or even get too involved in the story. That's how you miss stuff.

LISTENING: I really enjoyed this interview with the historical novelist Laura Purcell on The Conversation with Nadine Matheson. It's so interesting hearing about how different genres and acquisitions processes work at different publishing companies, as well as the different skills and experiences needed to write historical work.

WATCHING: Nothing watched on the telly last night aside from a bit of ANCIENT GREECE BY TRAIN (yes, I am that rock and roll) before I headed into Edinburgh, but recently I've been watching a lot of very random DJ sets on YouTube. My wife sent me this one and it absolutely delivered. A guy in a rice field in Japan doing an hour long jazz jungle set. Most days I feel like the internet was a mistake, but sometimes I see things like this and marvel at what it allows me to see.

READING: Still reading A SPY LIKE ME and greatly enjoying. Absolutely gorgeous prose.

LINK: Another excellent post from The Honest Editor, this time about literary scouting - what it is and how it works. I've met and chatted to literary scouts at Harrogate twice now and both times it was an absolutely fascinating conversation, because it's such a unique role, as well as being one I simply didn't know existed before getting into the industry.

UP NEXT: More proofing! At my current rate I should be finished by Friday, I think. It's always a balance of going fast enough to get it done on time and slowly enough to actually spot any issues. Hopefully back to drafting next week (as well as more events). Here's a quick list:

• Book Blether at Denny Library on Saturday 15th
• In conversation with Vaseem Khan and Kim Sherwood (also Saturday 15th)
• Book Week Scotland event at Ibrox Library on Thursday 20th
• A Bloody Scotland Debut Prize reunion event on Wednesday 26th

Phew! Can't wait for all of them. If you're thinking of coming along, please do book a ticket - it helps event organisers plan their events and ensures they'll actually happen. See you soon.

Onward!