astillac Posted July 1, 2008 Report Share Posted July 1, 2008 Okay, I'm going to make a point of coming here once a day. Just to poke at all o'you. I'm still in California. Alex has put in his notice, however! I'm not sure when we're moving, but apparently it's sometime between now and the 1st of next year. >__< Talk about hard to plan. In the meantime, I'm, uh, writing! I am! Our hard hitters might laugh, but I set a word quota for 2000 a day, and I'm making it happen. It takes about six hours a day, but it makes me feel like I'm doing something. So that's good. What is everyone else doing? Hmmm? - Curious in California, Calli Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve E Posted July 1, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 1, 2008 Okay, I'm going to make a point of coming here once a day. Just to poke at all o'you. I'm still in California. Alex has put in his notice, however! I'm not sure when we're moving, but apparently it's sometime between now and the 1st of next year. >__< Talk about hard to plan. In the meantime, I'm, uh, writing! I am! Our hard hitters might laugh, but I set a word quota for 2000 a day, and I'm making it happen. It takes about six hours a day, but it makes me feel like I'm doing something. So that's good. What is everyone else doing? Hmmm? - Curious in California, Calli Dear Curious in California, I am shocked, SHOCKED I say, that you are still on the West Coast. I had visions of reading your Pulitzer Prize winning "Route 66" style journal. I had everyone here on the East Coast in hiding, ready to pop up and yell "surprise". C'mon girl! The Atlantic Ocean is calling to you. As for myself, between doctor's appointments, paying bills and getting clients off my back, I manage to get a little writing done. Time is warped while I'm writing. Five pages can go by in minutes but feels like hours. One page can take hours but feels like minutes. There's no rhyme nor reason to it. And I got called for Jury Duty . But things are just too crazy right now so I postponed it until September. Ah. Courtroom drama. Maybe there's a story in it. But congratulations on your 2000 word a day habit. -Thoth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codemer Posted July 2, 2008 Report Share Posted July 2, 2008 Okay, I'm going to make a point of coming here once a day. Just to poke at all o'you. I'm still in California. Alex has put in his notice, however! I'm not sure when we're moving, but apparently it's sometime between now and the 1st of next year. >__< Talk about hard to plan. In the meantime, I'm, uh, writing! I am! Our hard hitters might laugh, but I set a word quota for 2000 a day, and I'm making it happen. It takes about six hours a day, but it makes me feel like I'm doing something. So that's good. What is everyone else doing? Hmmm? Way to set a high bar. I've gotten hardly any writing done in the last month. The new bedroom I've been building is getting close to finished. I've got some touch up painting to do and hardwoord (okay, fine, bamboo is a grass not a wood) floor to install. I did manage to finish reading Redwall and started into Little Brother, and I've been working like mad on an open source project. Oh, yeah, there's the whole finding time for my family thing too. Be well, IF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marguerite Posted July 2, 2008 Report Share Posted July 2, 2008 Way to set a high bar. I've gotten hardly any writing done in the last month. The new bedroom I've been building is getting close to finished. I've got some touch up painting to do and hardwoord (okay, fine, bamboo is a grass not a wood) floor to install. I did manage to finish reading Redwall and started into Little Brother, and I've been working like mad on an open source project. Oh, yeah, there's the whole finding time for my family thing too. Be well, IF And all this time I thought Calli was traveling east (I'd begun to wonder if they had a covered wagon ... or perhaps had left their computers behind, determined to start anew on the Atlantic Coast ). Now I discover she hasn't even left Sacramento! Maybe when you do make the trek, you can check in with us from Internet cafes along the road. If it's Friday it must be Denver, and all that. I haven't been visiting the boards much because I was revising "The Not Exactly Scarlet Pimpernel" yet again to take into account the last agent's reasons for rejecting it before sending it to the next victim. It went in just over a week ago, so cross your fingers for me. Meanwhile I am working like mad on the sequel, entirely in Storyist this time, in a vain attempt to forget that poor Sir Percy's fate hangs in the balance yet again. Oh, and trying to make a living, but who cares about that? I check for posts, though, even when I don't answer. Best, Marguerite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astillac Posted July 2, 2008 Report Share Posted July 2, 2008 Sorry to disappoint everyone! Believe me, I wish we were gone. These fires have been awful to the air quality. And now the 4th is coming up... ugh. @Thoth: Why is that? It's like you fall into a time warp when writing. So strange... @Issac: Bamboo is way better than hardwood! @Marguerite: You have a much longer username than the boys. It throws my whole visual line thing out of whack. Gawd I'm OCD. Fingers are crossed, and hands are clapping! Go you, sending manuscripts to agents. I think, as soon as I know when the heck we're moving, I'm going to start a little moving blog. Kind of a "check out how I get rid of everything I've accumulated over the last seven years" thing. I'm supposed to send something to an agent(s) by the end of the summer. That's my promise to my husband. It's so scary! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve E Posted July 2, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 2, 2008 @Thoth: Why is that? It's like you fall into a time warp when writing. So strange... You mean this doesn't happen to everyone? @Issac: Bamboo is way better than hardwood! She's right you know. Especially if your home is subject to flooding. (Oh those poor Iowans.) @Marguerite: You have a much longer username than the boys. It throws my whole visual line thing out of whack. That's why I just call her M. Sometimes Lady M. Occasionally Poopsie Pie (but never within striking distance). Go you, sending manuscripts to agents. Yes. Go, M, Go! Yea! I'm supposed to send something to an agent(s) by the end of the summer. That's my promise to my husband. It's so scary! Mailing (or e-mailing PDFs) is easy. Rejection is hard. But remember: one of America's most beloved authors, Dr. Seuss, couldn't get published to save his life for twelve years. It took an old college friend, who just happened to be an editor, to take pity on him and publish his first book. And the rest, as they say, is history. Good luck on the (eventual) moves. Where do you get all the boxes? -Thoth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astillac Posted July 3, 2008 Report Share Posted July 3, 2008 Thoth - I meant the proverbial you. I suppose I should have said "one". I did mean to include the collective. I'm not entirely sure how I'm even going to start sending manuscripts out - I have to do some research. It's not rejection I fear, it's actually having someone look at my writing. I don't know why; when I was a kid I wrote a book, and every day my friends would want to read the next ten pages or so. It'd be all over campus by lunch. I already have my first rejection letter tacked up. I'm ready and waiting. I'm just scared of starting. Superhonest, Calli Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codemer Posted July 3, 2008 Report Share Posted July 3, 2008 I haven't been visiting the boards much because I was revising "The Not Exactly Scarlet Pimpernel" yet again to take into account the last agent's reasons for rejecting it before sending it to the next victim. It went in just over a week ago, so cross your fingers for me. Meanwhile I am working like mad on the sequel, entirely in Storyist this time, in a vain attempt to forget that poor Sir Percy's fate hangs in the balance yet again. Oh, and trying to make a living, but who cares about that? I love the sound of that title. The thought of actually submitting my book fills me with dread. I know it will be rejected, probably many times. On a lighter note, though, this could be a good thing. If I can finish the sequel before the first one is published, it will look like I'm some sort of speed writing genius and that it doesn't really take my five or so years to write a book. Of course, once I'm rich and famous for selling the rights to my story while everyone waits for the third book, my world will come crashing down as they all realize just how slow and pathetic I really am. What do rejection letters look like? Are they like form letters, where they check boxes with what's wrong with your book, or do they just do like companies in my industry that don't want to hire you and say, "You're just not a good fit?" Are the rejections based on the synopsis or from reading the book itself? No more caffeine for me. IF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve E Posted July 3, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 3, 2008 I already have my first rejection letter tacked up. I'm ready and waiting. I'm just scared of starting. Calli, Isaac, I found an amusing article on rejection letters in Wikipedia of all places (but then, I have an odd sense of humor, as you know). Click HERE. Going beddy-bye now. -Thoth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codemer Posted July 3, 2008 Report Share Posted July 3, 2008 Calli, Isaac, I found an amusing article on rejection letters in Wikipedia of all places (but then, I have an odd sense of humor, as you know). Click HERE. That was awesome. I think I feel a tear in my eye. IF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marguerite Posted July 3, 2008 Report Share Posted July 3, 2008 That was awesome. I think I feel a tear in my eye. IF Yes, that pretty much covers it. Thanks, Thoth. I've received all of the variants of rejection letter by now. The only thing I'd add is that most agents now seem to deliver their rejections by e-mail and some include a caveat on their websites announcing that they'll contact you only if they're interested in seeing more (in practice, this is not as bad as it sounds, as the author can "assume" that his/her query e-mail became buried or spam-filtered and query again when the ms. is further along). The agent (I haven't sent any queries directly to editors yet) can reject you at any stage and will specify what s/he wants to see. Most recently, I sent out ten e-mail queries--most straight query letters, but some with two-page synopses and five to ten pages of text. Four agents rejected based on the query letter alone, providing some variant of the standard form letter (sounds interesting, not for me). Two rejected based on query, synopsis, and first five pages (same deal). One asked for the first three chapters, then the full manuscript, then turned it down but sent a really useful e-mail explaining exactly what she did and didn't like. One waited almost four months and then rejected based on the query. One (the agent looking at it now) waited three months and then asked for the full manuscript; that agency had already seen a synopsis and sample. One still hasn't replied. I should also mention that in none of these cases has the agent actually seen the ms. Before you get to the agent, you have to wow the readers, editorial staff, assistants, and anyone else whose job consists of winnowing down the 750-1,000 queries/month to something a real human being can handle. If any one of those people decides the book is not for them, you get kicked out of the pool. I also think they tend to call rather than write if they want you, but since no one has accepted my book yet, this belief is based on hearsay. There is a kind of hierarchy in rejection letters. The best ones come from individual agents or at least members of the agent's editorial staff and say specifically what the person liked and didn't like. If you get one of those, you have a name to write back to if and when you revise the book in ways that take that person's concerns into account. But the whole business is extremely subjective, so you're looking for that one person who loves your work. All the form letters tell you is that you haven't found that person yet. Having gone through the process, I wouldn't rush to send out a book. Even when you think it's ready, it's probably not. I've been working on "The Not Exactly SP" for two years plus, and although I have hated every one of the rejections when it arrived, I have to admit that the book's much improved due to the multiple revisions (ten major rewrites at least!). So if you send it out with the idea that (1) the ms. will probably be rejected many times and (2) with luck, you'll get comments you can use to improve it, that seems to be about the right attitude to approach the process. I still don't know if mine is at the level where it can attract an agent, because for everything I fix, the next person manages to find something else s/he doesn't like. But I am starting to think it will get there one day. Calli on OCD: You can use Lady M, as Thoth suggests (to his other suggestions I say "Evil Alien Overmuffins to you!" ) , or Margot, or simply M. But I note that none of those has five letters, so the colons will still not line up. I refuse to become Marge just to fit in with the crowd! Isaac: Congratulations on your building frenzy. The bamboo sounds lovely. Happy Fourth everyone. Cue fireworks! Marguerite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astillac Posted July 3, 2008 Report Share Posted July 3, 2008 Oh no, tomorrow's the 4th, isn't it? It is. Argh. Where did this week go? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve E Posted July 3, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 3, 2008 Oh no, tomorrow's the 4th, isn't it? It is. Argh. Where did this week go? Time warps, Calli. They're not just for writing anymore. About the 4th. NYC had banned street 'crackers (everything from pips up to M-80s) for a few years now. The result? You don't want to mail anything important in a street deposit box until at least the 5th of July. "Celebrate the birth of your country by blowing up a little piece of it." - Apu Nahasapeemapetilon Which reminds me: Uh, Marge, your significant other wouldn't be named Homer, would he? Just 232 years old. Hardly out of her diapers. And let's not forget Canada. She turned 141 last Monday, July 1, 2008. Go Toronto Maple Leafs! Rah! -Thoth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve E Posted July 4, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 4, 2008 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve E Posted July 4, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 4, 2008 Welcome Storyists around the world. Today, in New York City and the rest of America, we are celebrating the birth of our country and the principles it originally stood for. We may have lost our way a bit but perhaps today, as we take time to reflect between barbecues and blowing things up with firecrackers, we can find our way back. A good place to start is The Four Freedoms. These were the fundamental human freedoms proposed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in his 1941 State of the Union Address. The first two are actually set in the First Amendment of the US Constitution. The next two proposed a right to economic security; two ideas that went far beyond what the Founders thought could be done but had been bouncing around for centuries and has since become the foundation of American liberalism. The following are The Four Freedoms (with 21st century annotation). 1. Freedom of speech and expression (unless the government is keeping you in a secret prison). 2. Freedom of religion (unless insane members of your religion scream "Death To America" at TV cameras). 3. Freedom from want (unless you're poor). 4. Freedom from fear (unless it's the government that's trying to scare you). 5. Freedom from Microsoft Word. (Did Steve sneak that in? ) The first and only sculpture dedicated to The Four Freedoms was commissioned by FDR and completed in 1941. The Four Freedoms Monument (as it is known) was dedicated at Madison Square Garden in New York City in 1943. So you see, it's a big deal to us New Yorkers. Happy Independence Day everyone, no matter what you're celebrating your independence from. -Thoth. (Is it too late to ask the Brits to take us back?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marguerite Posted July 4, 2008 Report Share Posted July 4, 2008 Happy Independence Day everyone, no matter what you're celebrating your independence from.-Thoth. (Is it too late to ask the Brits to take us back?) Hear, hear! Great pic, by the way. Great list, too. But why blame Steve for #5? Aren't the rest of us wriggling just as hard to break free of Darth Processor's iron grip? In the long-ago days when I was a wee thing in a British primary (i.e., elementary) school, I was solemnly informed by my teachers that after a bit of kerfuffle (because the Yanks had lived away from court for too long and had forgotten how to ask nicely), the British Crown, out of the goodness of its heart, had granted you guys independence. So you see, it's all a matter of perspective. Handle those firecrackers with care, children. It's difficult to type without any fingers. Happy barbecuing, M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astillac Posted July 7, 2008 Report Share Posted July 7, 2008 Well, I've survived the fireworks. Air quality is bad again, but not as bad as it was week before last. Still, I'm not going outside to workout. Everyone else? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve E Posted July 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2008 Well, I've survived the fireworks. Air quality is bad again, but not as bad as it was week before last. Still, I'm not going outside to workout. Everyone else? Still got all my fingers. Air quality good (for NYC) but it's hot and muggy here today. It's expected to be hotter and even more humid tomorrow. Global warming or just July in New York? -Thoth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codemer Posted July 8, 2008 Report Share Posted July 8, 2008 Well, I've survived the fireworks. Air quality is bad again, but not as bad as it was week before last. Still, I'm not going outside to workout. Is the air quality bad from the forest fires, or from the cancer causing heavy metals used to make the pretty colors in all those fireworks? I missed the fireworks this year, but I made up for it by sleeping a lot. IF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astillac Posted July 8, 2008 Report Share Posted July 8, 2008 They say it's from the fires, and while some of it does have the distinctly sweet smell of charred grass, I would really like to blame it on the fireworks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astillac Posted July 16, 2008 Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 Okay, we have a date! October 1st! Also, we've put in our thirty days here at the apartment ... and we're moving in to my parent's upstairs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve E Posted July 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 October 1st? Jimmy Carter's birthday! I'm sure your Mom and Dad will be thrilled to have you back home ... with your man ... in your room ... together... Try to keep the thumping to a minimum. -Thoth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astillac Posted July 17, 2008 Report Share Posted July 17, 2008 Hey, they suggested it. And, we've been married for two years now. The thumping is already at a minimum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve E Posted July 17, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2008 Hey, they suggested it. And, we've been married for two years now. The thumping is already at a minimum. I weep for your bygone thumpings mighty ninja girl. But, I suppose, so long as minimum is sufficient all will be well. Perhaps a change in coasts will rekindle your thumpitude. Thump-thump thump-thump thumpity-thump. -Thoth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codemer Posted July 17, 2008 Report Share Posted July 17, 2008 I weep for your bygone thumpings mighty ninja girl. But, I suppose, so long as minimum is sufficient all will be well. Perhaps a change in coasts will rekindle your thumpitude. Thump-thump thump-thump thumpity-thump. -Thoth. What is your obsession with drums? IF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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