tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post8707686236317915951..comments2024-03-18T09:09:59.625-04:00Comments on Janet Reid, Literary Agent: WIR 5/1/16Janet Reidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00615380335938685231noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-88130676668077905062016-05-03T00:45:48.170-04:002016-05-03T00:45:48.170-04:00Julie: Those jokes never get old. What a lovely st...Julie: Those jokes never get old. What a lovely story! Thanks for sharing :DMegan Vhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00752842865397799428noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-1949017526018232802016-05-02T13:19:00.243-04:002016-05-02T13:19:00.243-04:00While I have had thoughts similar to those in Robe...While I have had thoughts similar to those in Robert Ceres' lament on query responses, I now see this as asking an agent to play both editor and signed agent for the shaggy hordes of unsigned authors that run through her inbox like so many bison.<br /><br />A query letter should be thoroughly edited, just as a manuscript needs to be. Like the first few chapters of the manuscript, it needs extra attention. <br /><br />If I were an agent, how would I see query letters?<br /><br />The query is effectively the book cover at this point. The book cover has to give me a reason to pick it up, and then it has to seduce me into reading a bit. A bland book cover, or one with a poorly written blurb, isn't going to entice me to open the book.roadkills-r-ushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14029861300358380117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-4384686311726214702016-05-02T13:06:37.811-04:002016-05-02T13:06:37.811-04:00Response mashup:
That theater is lucky there wasn...Response mashup:<br /><br />That theater is lucky there wasn't a riot, even back then. Are your grandmama and great aunts still around? I'd be happy to masquerade as the scriptwriter and send them letters apologizing and filling in the blanks. I may write that short story, anyway, just because.<br /><br />That is the best "get it on the page" explanation I've seen, BTW.<br /><br />The trend toward more books predates the huge rise in self-publishing. My sole experience with a book publisher was in the tech sector. The publisher's strategy was "first to market and dominate the shelf space, then move on". In a fast changing market, that meant no revisions when the next release of the software came out. We had a lot of irritated readers buying a book that was irrelevant six months after publishing, with no hope of a second edition.<br /><br />Dewey, Cheatham and Howe predates CarTalk, although I think they mainstreamed it!roadkills-r-ushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14029861300358380117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-86856608071138379472016-05-02T11:34:28.972-04:002016-05-02T11:34:28.972-04:00Great WIR - the information is so valuable to have...Great WIR - the information is so valuable to have- Thank you Janet :)<br /><br />Janice Grinyerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14363741660626407979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-81115689224969673262016-05-02T09:03:28.728-04:002016-05-02T09:03:28.728-04:00One more, BJ (and Cheryl)
There's an excellen...One more, BJ (and Cheryl)<br /><br />There's an excellent documentary video called "Three Stories of Galicia" I heartedly recommend you watch.<br /><br />P.S. BJ - My mother's was a Godnic. I can't remember her mother's maiden name at the moment(the mother was from Galicia). There was a revolutionary writer of minor significance with my grandmother's surname in northern Italy/ Yugoslavia.<br /><br />Finally, My main character in Obrigada Pumpkin is E.J. Sniegorski. If I had known better, he would be B.J. Sniegorski.<br /><br />Joseph S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07437663031050410028noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-61337120546724305852016-05-02T08:50:25.110-04:002016-05-02T08:50:25.110-04:00BJ
My Grandfather's father was a Sniegorski b...BJ <br />My Grandfather's father was a Sniegorski before the name change to Snoe (For a while three children of the same parents were Sniegorski, Snow, and Snoe).<br /><br />My grandmother was a Paluka.Joseph S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07437663031050410028noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-22045453937128679852016-05-02T08:45:17.803-04:002016-05-02T08:45:17.803-04:00B.J. Muntain
How are you doing, cousin?B.J. Muntain<br />How are you doing, cousin?Joseph S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07437663031050410028noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-50603476600147930432016-05-02T08:43:38.964-04:002016-05-02T08:43:38.964-04:00Yes, Craig, The school "changed" the ru...Yes, Craig, The school "changed" the rules. Actually, we clarified the rules to insure the creator, inventor, etc retained certain amount of control and rights to profits. In some cases, complete rights, sometimes sharing with the school; and also when the school had an irrevocable license to use certain creations. We begin with the creator owned the copyright or patent and then listed exceptions.<br /><br />A major concern of the university was the use of material used in On-line (Distance learning )courses and patentable inventions or discoveries. The university claims no rights to books and other writings, except those used in university magazines, reports, promotional materials, videos, etc AND distance learning courses.Joseph S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07437663031050410028noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-68819439810054373302016-05-02T07:05:42.895-04:002016-05-02T07:05:42.895-04:00Is it just me or is Janet one of the most interest...Is it just me or is Janet one of the most interesting, fun, quick witted, family focused, cat loving agent's we know?<br /><br />Thanks for the WIR Janet. About those badges... It's to late to turn back now I have already started :-), well I shouldn't say 'I', I should say my wife, she is glad to have a new project to do. She is very crafty :-).<br /><br />Thanks Again. Oh and Grandma's rock!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-69153742211505327022016-05-02T06:57:36.705-04:002016-05-02T06:57:36.705-04:00Always love reading the WIR, even though this week...Always love reading the WIR, even though this week was able to keep up with posts, because. Vacation. Tomorrow it is back to discipline and no internet till the workday is done...well, at least half done, but best to take myself firmly in paw after all this lollygagging and panda-ing about. (On that front, I saw the 8 month old baby panda in DC and he was actually awake! Yay!)<br /><br />Loved 2NNs subheader, was cheering for that to be picked.<br /><br />And on the subject of drawing a Reider badge, that is the sort of thing I do to relax and/or get my right brain working: drawing something unrelated to WIP. I'm pretty good about not letting myself getting distracted from the work at hand. Unless...um..it is watching panda videos, but I can even claim that is research. :-)<br />Enjoyed the first edition of the newsletter. <br /><br />Thanks again!<br />Panda out.Panda in Chiefhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14160375490647791433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-54072312478243420452016-05-02T06:55:12.003-04:002016-05-02T06:55:12.003-04:00What a fabulous Week in Review.
Though I've ...What a fabulous Week in Review. <br /><br />Though I've given up the idea of getting published, I'm lurking because I love Janet's writing and the information that is shared here. I want to know who is publishing, finding agents, blogging A-Z. This is also the best place to find good titles for my TBR list.<br /><br />I love QOTKU's frankness, her job is to look when she reads queries. Well hell. It's crystal clear. <br /><br />And now I know why my house is a wreck: beau said "no, what did you do today that is going to earn you money."angie Brooksby-Arcangiolihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08000615140577512304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-28803938577831307702016-05-02T04:15:29.725-04:002016-05-02T04:15:29.725-04:00Great WIR as always! I'm never aware how much...Great WIR as always! I'm never aware how much I miss until I read this.<br /><br />And congrats to everyone who finished the A-Z Challenge. I, for one, am seriously glad it's May now. Not only did I manage the A-Z, I also wrote 40K on a new book (thanks CampNaNo for keeping me on track). Only about 40K more to go… And a metric crap ton of revising.Kate Larkindalehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06202347563426692610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-90325324835742558682016-05-02T00:11:26.664-04:002016-05-02T00:11:26.664-04:00Congrats to WriterofWrongs!
Joseph: My father'...Congrats to WriterofWrongs!<br /><br />Joseph: My father's father's family came from Bukovina. My father's mother's father came from Galicia. He married a Pole from the Lviv (Lwow) area.<br /><br />Western Canada is full of eastern Europeans. I can give a history lesson about it, but I'm sure it's not as interesting to anyone else, so I'll rein myself in.BJ Muntainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12977414826388000094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-88317141385490767402016-05-01T22:23:02.341-04:002016-05-01T22:23:02.341-04:00Late to the party, but here nevertheless. Thank yo...Late to the party, but here nevertheless. Thank you so much for taking the time out to do the WiR, Janet. I try to read all the comments every day, but by the end of the week, I've forgotten what Monday's topic was, let alone what everyone said! And invariably I miss the significance of some of the comments. You always manage to catch the gems, though. :)<br /><br />I agree, the Grandmama story is priceless. :)<br /><br />Huge congrats, WriterOfWrongs. Please share deets!! :D<br /><br />And I will gladly take all the punishment people want to dish out on me for mentioning the A-to-Z Challenge. Every lashing will be worth it for the wonderful stories people produced over the past month. You all are awesome. :DColin Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03292997431935215499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-48828691542472381342016-05-01T22:15:30.447-04:002016-05-01T22:15:30.447-04:00I've read that story about Janet's Grandma...I've read that story about Janet's Grandmama three times now and love it so much. Because I agree with Grandmama, I'm impressed she still remembers it at 106, and she's absolutely right. What a crappy way to cheat the audience.<br /><br />Will, my soul son who is a literary critic, was talking about a fantasy where there is a great battle and the author has the MC get knocked out. He wakes up after the battle and sums it up briefly. What a cop out. You don't have to give all the gory details, but that is just wimping out.<br /><br />Janet: Probably just me, but "he's face familiar to about half the media market." reads a bit awkwardly.<br /><br />I just read the newsletter and it was awesome. Now to order more books. It's almost as if that were a marketing strategy. Hmmm.<br /><br />Congratulations Writerofwrongs!<br />Julie Weathershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13725236516593676381noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-77279677391805661302016-05-01T21:58:24.882-04:002016-05-01T21:58:24.882-04:00Thank you My Queen. I thank you not just for your ...Thank you My Queen. I thank you not just for your time, consideration and generosity but for putting so much of yourself into this one.<br /><br />On Bees:<br />I had an Uncle who farmed corn outside of Sioux City. If you spit on the ground there and walked through it you feet would grow to twice their size within three steps because of the loam they have. At the time they brought in bee trucks to pollinate the corn. Then came the colony collapse. There might soon not be enough bees to keep America in food.<br /><br />On Creator:<br />Are Joseph Snoe trying to change the rules? As it stands now, if you use a university's resources for anything the university owns it. Gatorade was created in a UF lab so UF owns it. If Creator is a project using the resources of anyone else it belongs to the owner of those resources and not those creating it.Craig Fhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07157301156577795781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-61150885407474728172016-05-01T21:02:04.440-04:002016-05-01T21:02:04.440-04:00One of the reasons I love Sundays is the WIR, than...One of the reasons I love Sundays is the WIR, thanks Janet.<br /><br />I know I'm beginning to sound like a broken record, but once again you've shown us what a great storyteller and writer you are! We know you're a wonderful agent, but I think you would be an even more wonderful writer. I love the story about Grandmama! 106 years old and still telling stories about her childhood...wow! And I love how you don't call her granny or grandma, no she's Grandmama, pronounced with a French accent, of course. <br /><br />And speaking of fine ladies, I hope the Duchess has no intentions of leaving any time soon. Her antics, and yours, are such a treat.<br /><br />Writerofwrongs, congratulations! How fantastic for the awards you've received. Love the Florida Keys. I took friends deep sea diving there. No, I didn't dive, I just took them (Lol) but I look forward to reading ADRIFT.<br /><br />Btw, great newsletter. Tata, off to bed.<br />LynnRodzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10796099106913990163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-70845201263639706132016-05-01T20:24:42.316-04:002016-05-01T20:24:42.316-04:00It was such a lovely surprise to see my name menti...It was such a lovely surprise to see my name mentioned, I had to rub my eyes (smearing the mascara and eyeliner which I had completely forgotten about). I was sure the matzo that I have been eating for more than a week now (a special Passover bread–dreadful for digestion) had gone to my head and made me see things…Thank you so much for the mention, Janet. :-) <br /><br />I LOVE your writing. The loner cat, the Duchess of Yowl and now the story about your grandmother, it's all DELICIOUS. I always look forward to reading more of what you write. And I'm so glad that FB added the <3 button! The world is definitely missing out on an amazing writer. <br /><br />Thank you so much for the wonderful WIR and for everything that you do for us. And congrats on the debut newsletter!<br /><br />Carolynn, it's so cool that you made the sub-header! :D Lilac Shoshanihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06657389796454895412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-49628533287415360522016-05-01T19:19:04.757-04:002016-05-01T19:19:04.757-04:00HA! I half expected my late night rambling OT comm...HA! I half expected my late night rambling OT comment would simply get deleted, and here it is in the WIR. That challenge was exhausting, but it had the result I'd hoped it would. Sometimes when you think you can't do a thing, the best solution is to just do it anyway. But I honestly had no time or energy to read the work of other participants. Sorry about that. :(<br /><br />I've been enjoying the Duchess of Yowl entries over on FB too. Silly cat.<br /><br />Carolynn, congrats on the subheader! You make it sound like this is your first time for that, which I find really difficult to believe given your talent for wise words.<br /><br />Thanks for another great wrap up, Janet. Always so much to learn over here.<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-58256685704479853302016-05-01T19:18:06.428-04:002016-05-01T19:18:06.428-04:00Wow! As always, a brilliant WIR - thank you!
And I...Wow! As always, a brilliant WIR - thank you!<br />And I've just realised that I completely missed Cynthia out of my blog-visiting in April, and hence from my FF entry. Sorry, Cynthia! I'd double checked that I'd bookmarked all Reiders blogs who were doing the A toZ, but I must have missed you somehow :(<br />So... off to read some more.<br />Congrats on the subheader, 2Ns, and congrats to the AtoZers (it's over, yay!) and thank you for the newsletter, Janet!<br />And happy writing, everybody :)Kae Ridwynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10356868531870405990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-77345198197693641082016-05-01T19:02:28.011-04:002016-05-01T19:02:28.011-04:00Look at me - WIR. I'm liking myself right now....Look at me - WIR. I'm liking myself right now. And figuring out how to do it on Facebook. There is a step up to the layman's understanding of Relativity. It's a layman's understanding of Game Theory: Believe it or not, if you fight to win for yourself you are actually doing more good for everyone than you would if you dumbed yourself down to please everyone, or dumbly try to include everyone. What a wonderful and strange world we live in. I couldn't have planned it better myself.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-49242001174327963452016-05-01T17:00:14.631-04:002016-05-01T17:00:14.631-04:00Re bringing parents to an interview, youngest son ...Re bringing parents to an interview, youngest son enlisted in the National Guard when he was a junior in high school at 17. He had planned on getting two years in the guard and then transferring to the Marines when his enlistment was up. <br /><br />In order to enlist at that age, the recruiting office had to speak to the parents as well. Husband was busy, but the recruiter met with me and son at the house and we had a very long and involved discussion where he was very honest about everything, including the chances of deploying. 100% <br /><br />So, I guess in a way, a parent was at the job interview.Julie Weathershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13725236516593676381noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-71167023370502817532016-05-01T16:52:15.633-04:002016-05-01T16:52:15.633-04:00Great week in review as always. I started this pos...Great week in review as always. I started this post some time ago, but former editor, forever friend called and the discussion went to Trump whereupon I lost my religion for forty minutes. The raven statue sitting on my bookshelf is blushing at some of the things it heard as there is nothing more inventive than irritated writers. The next time I need to write a torture scene I will include the image of a certain businessman in my mind. It will be yuge. <br /><br />And thus did Julie Weathers become a best-selling horror author.<br /><br />Anyway, great week and wrap up. I always miss so much.<br /><br />Congratulations to Carolynn on the subheader. I knew it would make the cut when I read it.<br /><br />Elise: "Janet, when the Hell do you sleep? Do you have clones?"<br /><br />Apparently I need more coffee. I first read that as you asking Janet if she has clothes. Even sharks need clothes. Style is important.<br /><br />Congratulations to all who made it through the A-Z challenge. I missed a lot of posts from Reiders I want to go back and hunt down. I need to find the list with participants.<br /><br />It was an interesting and fun exercise. I probably won't do it next year as I apparently don't have it in me to write a short blog post, a short novel, a short short. If I were a fashion designer, there would have been no mini skirts. It's unfair to expect people to read my rambling posts when there is such a frenzy of writing going on. In spite of that, whoa. There were some seriously good stories out there. Hat tip to Colin for mentioning the challenge. There may still be a Colin flogging one day, but it won't be an A-Z Flogging. Well, it might be. He hangs around writers after all.<br /><br />There are some tremendously talented writers in the reef, but we already knew that.<br /><br /><br />"It's so easy to lose focus doing things that are fun, but not actually helpful to your career."--QOTKU<br /><br />Agreed, though I disagree that Miss Janet getting her files in order doesn't help the work. <br /><br />My living room bookcases are in an order unusual for me, but I had to micro organize to find things quicker.<br /><br /><br />Megan: Sometimes you just need fun. That's a balance too.<br /><br />My son invited me down for barbecue last night. It was awesome. While he was grilling he reached in the open window and grasped the top of my head with his fingertips then started kneading. He asked the two-year-old who was standing on the couch next to me watching Dad, "Gavin, what is this?"<br /><br />"Brain sucker!"<br /><br />"Right. And what's it doing?"<br /><br />I groaned. Not the brain sucker joke.<br /><br />"Gavin! It's starving."<br /><br />"Not funny, Will"<br /><br />Some things never get old, I guess. He used to do that to me when he was in grade school. Now it's time to teach the next generation stupid jokes.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Julie Weathershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13725236516593676381noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-59854938604308049752016-05-01T16:42:00.895-04:002016-05-01T16:42:00.895-04:00Bringing parents to an interview? I have yet to en...Bringing parents to an interview? I have yet to encounter it, but I am not completely surprised.<br /><br />I am currently serving as a member of a selection committee. We have been seeing a number of applications from candidates who have none of the required training or experience. I was horrified when one of their letters informed us that she would call within a week to set up her interview. This disturbed me enough that I decided to poke around the Internet and see if this is a common problem. Imagine my dismay when I read a number of websites telling job applicants to include this phrase, and to actually do it! According to them, it increases odds of landing an interview by 25%. <br /><br />It bothers me that so much bad advice abounds. This candidate will never get an interview, as she is unqualified. Making herself a pain will not help this. <br /><br />I can only imagine the level of success I'd have if I started closing my query letters with an offer to call within a week to arrange representation, and then actually doing it. Sheesh.Beth H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/14281003524857655329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-10707333928236960292016-05-01T16:34:48.970-04:002016-05-01T16:34:48.970-04:00>>The children are shooed off after lunch, t...<br /><br />>>The children are shooed off after lunch, told to make themselves scarce till suppertime.<br /><br />Ah, the good ole days. I remember walking for miles and hours with my dog. No phone. No worries. Times sure did change.<br /><br />>>In terms of prioritizing what I do for non-clients, the best use of my time is this blog: it's got the broadest array of subject matter of use to the most eyeballs. Second is QueryShark: specific topic, of use to querying writers. Third is ChumBucket: specific advice, useful only to the one writer.<br />I love ChumBucket, I do, but I have to prioritize. <br /><br />I understand prioritizing, but remember the boy who threw the starfish back into the ocean. He made a difference to the one.<br /><br />>>I think the only job that would be an auto-reject is 2016 Republican candidate for president. <br /><br />Then it's not an auto-reject to represent an author whose google presence isn't squeaky clean? I'm definitely not running for president, so I'm glad to know this.<br /><br />I'm also glad it's May and the AtoZ challenge is finished. Now, back to the WiP!<br /><br />Congrats Writerofwrongs!<br /><br />Great sub-header. Have a great week.<br /><br />Dena Pawlinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14444683810125395220noreply@blogger.com