Thursday, June 02, 2011

"What do you look for in a writer," you may ask

Good writing is of course the first answer to that.

But there is a lot of good writing out there.  How do you assess whether a writer will be a good fit or has what it takes to survive in this crazy Publication World.

Well, you pay attention to the little things they tell you.

I've been in touch with a prospective author for about three years now, off and on. Recently she sent me her full manuscript.  We've had back and forth emails about it, and today very casually she mentions this:

My laptop died two months ago, so 50% of what you are hopefully reading was written on my iPhone. 

Yea, that. That's dedication. That's perseverance. THAT'S what I look for.



24 comments:

Unknown said...

That's some heavy stuff. I know from personal experience what a pain it is having to write on a phone. Even sending quick emails is annoying, and that's nothing compared to 50% of a MS. Whoever this writer is, I'd like to give her a round of applause.

ryan field said...

Good for her!!

Amber said...

I love writing on my iPhone! I started doing it out of necessity, because I was spending a lot of time nursing and holding my sleeping baby, and the iPhone was quiet and handheld so it worked. But then I sort of got used to the slower pace of writing. I get to think more as I write, and can come up with different stuff that way. I still grab the computer whenever I can, just because it's rare and it's fun to zip away.

AimeeLSalter said...

I say it's a brilliant idea - great motivation to keep your wordcount to a minimum :)

Carolynnwith2Ns said...

Jeez, will somebody buy that girl a laptop.
Ah, does she have thumbs left?

Debra Lynn Shelton said...

Holy smoke. As a "dedicated" writer, I now feel about two inches tall. If that were my situation, I can't imagine Spider Solitaire wouldn't win out over Actual Work. In the big leagues, that's what they call, "freaking impressive."

jesse said...

Impressive. If nothing else, I bet she can fire out a quick Text msg when necessary.

Unknown said...

What dedication! I have to say, I'm impressed that she didn't do what most do: quitting when the familiar group of keys on which to type disappears and settling on the twiddling of thumbs.

Michael Seese said...

I'll see all of your iPhones, and raise you a Palm Pilot. Yes, back in the day, I actually would write on my Palm Pilot. And I used that Graffiti chicken scratch thing. Eventually my wife took pity and bought me this cool folding keyboard.

Crystal Collier said...

See, this is when I count my blessings for being married to a techie. Whew!

Feaky Snucker said...

Am I the only one that hand writes everything as a rough copy, and then types it up? I'm only 29, but I'm always paranoid about losing parts of my work. Plus, I feel sort of naked without a blue/ black ink streak across the edge of my right hand, from smearing the text as I blaze my way towards cramped fingers!

Simon Hay said...

Bravo! You have to keep chasing that dream no matter how long it takes.

angie Brooksby-Arcangioli said...

She's a survivor. I hope she can borrow someone's laptop to make revisions. What strikes me is that she mentioned this casually in an exchange of emails after sending the full manuscript.

Sheila Cull said...

The last sentence of the last paragraph in that post made me laugh out loud.

Stacy said...

That's it. I'm getting an iPhone.

Anonymous said...

That is awesome. Good for her for not giving up -- and for sticking with what she believes in. That's admirable and pretty damn cool. ~Ali

Unknown said...

So, now you'll be getting this line in queries:
"I wrote the entire novel on my iPhone, so you know I've got dedication."

Christine Rains said...

Wow! That's dedication. Makes me wish I could afford an iPhone!

Kiersten said...

What I love about this post is that you were in contact with the author for 3 years before she sent in an MS. Gives me hope. Everyone says "send it in no matter how long its bee" but seeing it in action is more heartening - a show, don't tell in action.

Also, yeesh that's commitment! I can barely tap out a text message w/out 3 grammar offense and 5 spelling ones. kudos.

M. M. Frick said...

Feaky Snucker,...if that is your real name...I also do the lionshare of my draft in longhand. And not necessarily organized longhand -- a couple of notebooks, some loose leaf paper, etc. I can get away with writing most any place that way, and typing it all into the computer at night allows me to edit and revise as I go along.

Kristin Laughtin said...

Bravo to that writer! Of course, with the pace at which we're adopting technology, I wonder how long it will be before this isn't so unusual. Still, that takes dedication and she gets trailblazer points!

Marsha Sigman said...

What's an iphone?

Kidding, kidding. That's awesome and half the battle is never giving up. Here's to winning.

lhowell said...

Your blogger is wonderful. I can relate my iphone was all that I could work on after radiation treatments. It was small enough since I couldn't use my left side. Well, the iphone died thankfully after I downloaded my manuscript to my laptop (a gift from a dear friend). I live to write and write to live. I am cancer free and kept writing my mystery novel. I am new to blogging and I love it. The best to all writers.

Dave said...

If she'll pay postage from Ireland, I'll give her an old laptop free.

Or she could use a bluetooth wireless keyboard with her phone.

Or she could swap her iphone for an old computer. There'd be no shortage of takers.

Offer expires on Christmas Eve, 2018.