Open Office, besides being free and sporting nearly all of the features of Microsoft Office 2003, maintains a number of internal statistics, and one of them is total time a document is edited–a feature I wish I never found.

Since November 11, 2004, I spent 2141 hours working on The Last Track at a computer, be it a laptop or desktop. Assuming 40 hour work weeks, that’s 53.5 weeks out of a possible 113. To be more precise, nearly 1 of every 9 hours over the last 2 years and 2 months went into the novel. There were other projects during that period, too. A few short stories, the birth of a new novel, and regular site postings. Good Christ, I need more sunlight.

Obsessive as that figure sounds, it actually understates the true number. One aspect the utility overlooks–it simply can’t account for this–is the time spent off line with an electronic document. Like say, reading a hard copy.

Getting to this point also involved three separate feedback rounds: The Eight, Team Eagle Eye, and the Final Three. A considerable amount of effort went to preparations for, and into, those sessions. All of that work happened away from the computer. Taking such meetings into account, as well time spent reading the manuscript in printed form, adds another 2 weeks. I still have one more reader from the Final Three to consult with.

Not certain whether to laugh or cry…