Posts made in January, 2010

If you are writer, you are probably aware of the fact that many publishers will not even look at manuscripts submitted by unagented writers, and getting an agent can be a real challenge. My Wall Street Journal reading father, is always helpfully passing on articles he finds interesting, and the latest was this article on the death of the slush pile which appeared in yesterday’s paper. Among other things, it makes the case that the internet, which was supposed to level the playing field, may have actually made it even more difficult for new writers to get published, because the internet itself is like one big, overwhelming slush pile. That said, I know for a fact that the slush pile has not been killed off completely. There are still some publishers out there...

Today’s group blog topic, hosted by Stephanie Faris at Steph in the City is plans, specifically the plans for our literary careers. You can participate in this group blog by clicking here. At first I was stymied by what to write about. Plans? What are those? I’m more a go with the flow sort of person. Then I read Stephanie’s story, and I realized that I too have tried out a few different plans before knowing just where I wanted to go, and believe it or not they all started when I was about ten years old. That summer, I was going with my family on vacation to North Carolina. We had rented a condo there with a couple of other families, and were spending a week in the outer banks. I had a plan. I was going to write a novel about that week, and it...

They can also make hilarious videos and post them on YouTube, as the below spoof commercial proves. I found this by way of blogger Megan Rebekah. The star and creator of the spoof commercial is Lara Zielin author of Donut Days. And authors if you are looking for a way to promote books, hilarious YouTube videos never hurt. I am now thinking I need to get my hands on a copy of Donut Days. Here’s Lara’s Bluggie...

Today, I received a rejection letter that actually lifted my spirits, and I am not saying that to be sarcastic. First off I was surprised at finding the envelope, with my former address written in my hand on the front, the yellow forwarding sticker in place to make sure that it reached me here in New Jersey. I was surprised because as far as I knew I didn’t have any submission out there that I was waiting to hear on. I opened up the envelope to find a form rejection letter with a hand-written note of apology. The rejection letter was for a short story I had submitted about a year ago, and had already written off as being rejected, even though I hadn’t heard back. I even wondered if I had done something really dopey like not putting a stamp on my return...

It’s Monday What Are You Reading? is a group blog hosted by J. Kaye’s Book Blog. You can link your blog by clicking here. I’m cheating this week. I was on the road last Monday, and didn’t get around to participating in the group blog. So, today’s post is actually what I’ve been reading over the past two weeks. I read both of my Christmas gift books The Devil’s Eye by Jack McDevitt and The Man Who Loved Books Too Much by Allison Hoover Bartlett. I also listened to the audio version of Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld, read The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell and an all ages sort of picture book by Jon Muth called Stonecutter. My quick reviews on each of these books are listed below. The Devil’s Eye Jack McDevitt...