@HedgeMage: Indeed, @LadybugKiller is correct. Hope it goes well, though - and thanks muchly for keeping me posted :D

OK, I've been way out of it. I've somehow been convinced for the last 3 weeks that we're entering November now. I think anticipating a bunch of good stuff in November is part of what formed this absurd impression. Please belay my polite-yet-frantic worrying above about start dates for the NaNoWriMo initiative... >_<

A great point about writing, and the gap between ability and potential: jimvanpelt.livejournal.com/360496.html Via the ever-inestimable Jim Van Pelt.

I don't know if this is ontopic for writers, but I was wondering how to find out how many copies of a book have been published, short of asking the writer. Is this info available publicly somewhere?