tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post7228065489663926002..comments2024-03-18T09:09:59.625-04:00Comments on Janet Reid, Literary Agent: The Week in Review 2/8/15Janet Reidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00615380335938685231noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-90504348692470254962015-02-10T23:17:18.377-05:002015-02-10T23:17:18.377-05:00I keep missing the contests. I really must schedul...I keep missing the contests. I really must schedule it into my remembrall with alarms and everything to read this blog on the weekends simply so I can participate in the contests.<br /><br />While Her Sharkness doesn't rep what I write, she's still one of my dream agents because all the personal advice she's given me has been spot on.Her Grace, Heidi, the Duchess of Knealehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17818060864422019573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-64377954179705781762015-02-09T11:23:21.721-05:002015-02-09T11:23:21.721-05:00Michael: What Jenz said--drop hints within the MC&...Michael: What Jenz said--drop hints within the MC's narrative that s/he may not notice but the reader might. The ease with which he was able to get that table. The fact he's alone. The quiet ticking he hears during a lull in the noise that he mistakes for someone tapping, or a nearby clock...<br /><br />It's certainly harder with 1st. Not much easier with 3rd close. Colin Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03292997431935215499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-85759696237120181602015-02-09T11:11:00.191-05:002015-02-09T11:11:00.191-05:00You may not be able to show the bomb under the tab...You may not be able to show the bomb under the table, but you can drop hints that the character does not pick up. It's a really tricky balance--you risk the hints being so subtle readers don't notice them, or so obvious the character appears stupid for not noticing.<br /><br />Ah, the hardships of writing first person. You can't just stick a bomb under the table.Jenzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11652680551107638557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-75582694741201962962015-02-09T06:54:53.138-05:002015-02-09T06:54:53.138-05:00I wish I had gotten to this earlier.... So as an o...I wish I had gotten to this earlier.... So as an open question to my fellow authors, the suspense / tension matrix seems a little more challenging in first person. After all, how can I (the author) know about (and mention) the bomb under the table if I (the narrator) do not?Michael Seesehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03694187657718931214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-34194561669723398082015-02-08T21:47:51.753-05:002015-02-08T21:47:51.753-05:00John, surely you mean coming to Amrica, right?
An...John, surely you mean coming to Amrica, right?<br /><br />And sorry about that extra e in your name. I fixed it for you.<br /><br />jantJanet Reidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00615380335938685231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-23452164058769084992015-02-08T21:23:44.083-05:002015-02-08T21:23:44.083-05:00I'd love to see a flash fiction book, too, but...I'd love to see a flash fiction book, too, but I wonder how much work would be involved in tracking down all of the past contestants and obtaining their rights. I suspect it would teeter perilously close to More Trouble Than It's Worth territory. <br /><br />(Although it would make a very funny set of blog posts.)Amy Schaeferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17263719891092841767noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-91332093360245752762015-02-08T20:06:45.264-05:002015-02-08T20:06:45.264-05:00So many things to comment on:
You may THINK your p...So many things to comment on:<br />You may THINK your phone calls always show up with QOTKU as the caller. On my phone you'd be unknown. My kids, who are in my contact list, who are properly identified by name when they text, are "unknown" when they call. Either that or my phone didn't know WHY they were calling. The only person who it always identifies is my boss, and she pays the bill so maybe that has something to do with it. But that's OK. Friday I ran the phone through the washing machine. It's now an ex-phone.<br />You checked to make sure you spelled John McIntyre's name correctly. You did not on mine. My name has no "e" in it. But that's OK. I've never worked for a newspaper that spelled my name correctly every time. My earliest memory is my mother correcting someone on the phone who misspelled the name. The family story is my great, great grandfather lost the "e" overboard when he came to America.<br />John "Ol' Chumbucket" Baurhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17120550659339089195noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-78271213740929295662015-02-08T19:11:34.919-05:002015-02-08T19:11:34.919-05:00Oh, and just one more thing. Those shoes. My wife ...Oh, and just one more thing. Those shoes. My wife says I need to get new shoes. If you don't mind me asking, how much did you pay for those...? ;)Colin Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03292997431935215499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-88077714975421591352015-02-08T18:39:54.359-05:002015-02-08T18:39:54.359-05:00Well said Colin. Of course, if I'm ever fortun...Well said Colin. Of course, if I'm ever fortunate enough to attend a publishing banquet(that's not the metaphorical sort) and I'm not properly dressed, I beg the agents of the world to say something. Please. :)Megan Vhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00752842865397799428noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-29345582120299933032015-02-08T16:25:32.609-05:002015-02-08T16:25:32.609-05:00One more thing (spot the Columbo devotee)... That&...One more thing (spot the Columbo devotee)... That's an interesting point about agent blogs giving the unagented a taste of the agent-client relationship. Yes, it does take agents away from tending to the needs of their clients. But I think there's an understanding among the unagented that we are not the agent's priority. While Ms. Shark will answer the phone to Patrick Lee any time of the day or night, she will respond to our emails and comments as she has time. The fact she DOES respond is a blessing to us. We understand. And we are grateful to QOTKU (for one) for making herself available to us.<br /><br />Aside from the social benefits of hanging out with fun people online, there is a business side to this, and it's called "networking." What a great way for agents to find potential clients and guide their paths before they even start querying. I can't begin to count the times I've seen newbie writers online making rookie mistakes, only to realize the only reason I know they're making rookie mistakes is because I've spent so long hanging out on agent blogs (this one in particular), asking questions, and learning from articles and comments. If more agents spent time doing what Janet does here, their jobs would get much harder because the quality of their queries would increase. I'm sure of it.<br /><br />Another very important thing this kind of agent/non-client conversation does is tear down barriers. How many agents like to be perceived as "industry gatekeepers"? As I understand it, not many. How many unagented writers really understand what a literary agent does? How many still live under the perception that the literary agent is there to make sure you are properly dressed and have all the correct credentials before you can enter the publishing banquet? Too many, I daresay. But no-one who's regular to this blog, I would venture.<br /><br />So, all this to say THANK YOU, Janet. You and the other agents who make time for us are not only doing us a great service, but you are sowing seeds that the publishing industry will harvest to its benefit in years to come. Mark my words. :)Colin Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03292997431935215499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-90537202158761313292015-02-08T16:10:50.317-05:002015-02-08T16:10:50.317-05:00Hey guys, lets not scare off our esteemed QOTKU or...Hey guys, lets not scare off our esteemed QOTKU or she may back-stroke her way to owning a Wi-Fi-less Sherwin Williams Franchise is Tahiti. Carolynnwith2Nshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18394998702410764388noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-57312800701624737962015-02-08T16:10:08.664-05:002015-02-08T16:10:08.664-05:00Much of what I yammer on about here on the blog ta...<i>Much of what I yammer on about here on the blog takes on the allure of The Right Way, but in all honesty, the measure of whether this blog is something to pay attention to is whether it helps you become a better writer.<br /><br />Everyone learns and improves in their own way.</i><br /><br />Taping this to my wall. Or my forehead. Whichever is easiest.Karen McCoyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02640324898284007337noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-75942908767170540882015-02-08T15:55:19.501-05:002015-02-08T15:55:19.501-05:00Well, you could always double post on Friday. One,...Well, you could always double post on Friday. One, the locked post for the Flash Fiction contest, and the other a comment-enabled post.Jennifer R. Donohuehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00363886899308588391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-64477579636288190062015-02-08T13:54:51.848-05:002015-02-08T13:54:51.848-05:00What to do with the flash contest entries? If you ...What to do with the flash contest entries? If you know a publisher that would take it, sure, why not compile a book of them? Include winners, finalists, and others of note. And, as suggested, add your comments on why you think these stories work. That would be the value-add since the stories are already available online (if you're willing to search for them). If you include stories by people who have yet to secure an agent, they could include the book as publishing credit on their queries! :)<br /><br />If you plan to continue the contests on a reasonably regular basis, why not set up a blog specially for them? You could announce here when a contest is coming, and direct people to the contest blog. That would avoid the radio silence when there's a contest on, and it would also put them all in one place for easy access should we want to go back and re-read them.<br /><br />Just a couple of thoughts. :)Colin Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03292997431935215499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-69127611823148311252015-02-08T13:34:12.991-05:002015-02-08T13:34:12.991-05:00Okay, enough already with the nice weather reports...Okay, enough already with the nice weather reports. We're braced for another onslaught, so to all you sunshine and warmth yahoos...may the bluebird of happiness, which is perched upon you spikey ray of sunshine, poop on your bottle of SPF 30.<br />Have a nice day :(<br /><br />Still lovin' the WIR.<br />Put me in for a copy of the book too.Carolynnwith2Nshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18394998702410764388noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-81700493917075462372015-02-08T12:33:15.636-05:002015-02-08T12:33:15.636-05:00This past week I received my manuscript back from ...This past week I received my manuscript back from my editor, with her suggestions and edits, and I've started the final pass before querying. So of course now I'm excited again, altho I'm soooooooo tired of reading and re-reading, and revising and re-revising, this book! I wish I could be confident that once this pass was finished, the manuscript would be final, because then I could get back to loving it again. But I know enough to realize that when I get an agent [I'm thinking positive], I'm sure to have more suggestions for revision before the final product. By that time I'll hate this book more than I'm loving/hating it now.<br /><br />It's 80 degrees here in SoCal today. By next weekend the forecast is 90 degrees. What happened to winter? Last year was the hottest year on record, according to our local newspaper [and we all know everything in the newspaper is true].<br /><br />We had a teaser in December with some rain and even snow in the local mountains, but nothing since. We desperately need an end to this drought.<br /><br />Count my vote for Kitty's book idea. I'd buy that for sure.<br />Dena Pawlinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14444683810125395220noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-53937359913314718072015-02-08T11:59:45.826-05:002015-02-08T11:59:45.826-05:00Aww my Gossie! He actually doesn't fear the va...Aww my Gossie! He actually doesn't fear the vacuum so much as he loves high places. From which he can survey the housework in progress ... and any feathered friends out in the yard.<br /><br />As for the miserable weather - I probably shouldn't mention that down here it's in the 60s today. If it helps, I'm staying in to research the WIP and possibly churn out a couple more new queries.DLMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08768285199864217885noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-20360878457078806512015-02-08T11:44:13.231-05:002015-02-08T11:44:13.231-05:00At some point I've got to figure out a use for...<i>At some point I've got to figure out a use for these gems. Over the years, there have been some entries and winners that simply knocked my sox off.</i><br /><br />Why not publish them? Even better, you could take us through the entire process, step-by-step. <br /><br />AND, you could hold a contest for the best title and another contest for the best query. The winners get copies of the book, of course.<br /><br />In the book, you could explain why you chose each contest winner.Kittyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11772310179223546476noreply@blogger.com