Yesterday morning I disguised myself as a person and adjourned to the breakfast trough. (Nothing like grits on the menu to pry me from my hammock!)
I was drinking my 17th cup of coffee when who should I spy across the room but Blog Reader Kristin, who had alerted me she was coming to Malice. Nothing to do but grab her, throw her in the chair across from mine and quiz her about her work in progress.
The conversation ranged from her WIP to the vagaries of publishing, to the hot topic of the day. Kristin was kind enough to mention that she'd found great value in the blog posts here, although she confessed to not commenting much. A Quiet Reader!
I sighed and said "I'm running out of things to talk about. I feel like I'm repeating myself."
And then I said, out loud, for the first time, much to my own surprise even, "I've been thinking about stopping."
Well!
The Reader Who Was Previously Quiet and Genteel leapt to her feet, weaponized her teaspoon, with flames shooting from her iPhone (yes, there's an app for that). I think I heard a roll of thunder but it might have just been my chair hitting the ground as I dove under the table for cover.
"No!" she said.
"No! NO! NOO!!
"No, you shall not stop.
"Not everyone has read your blog for all ten years you've been yammering on about all things publishing.
"And what people need to hear about changes when they go from pre-querying, to post-querying, to on sub to after sub, to agent hell, and back.
"It's not a bad thing to repeat yourself."
Chastened, I could only say well, ok then, and abandon any kind of early retirement plan.
So, if you like this blog and it has value for you, don't thank me. Thank Kristin. Who has returned to her quiet and genteel ways, but we know she's out there...reading.
84 comments:
I'm a quiet reader too, but read I do, nearly every day. And I've learned so much. And even when I *think* I know the answer to a publishing issue, the way it's presented is always new and different - hey, just like writing a novel!
Thank you for continuing to educate us about the nuances of the publishing world.
I cannot echo Kristin enough! I am mostly a quiet reader too, but I have learned so much from this blog. I read every post and have for years now. I have also seen your posts referenced time and time again in various writing groups. I think the support and reach is wider than you realize. I hope you'll keep it up, and thank you so much for taking your time to help us all.
The real irony here is when you compare this post to the Reider group on facebook, which has had several posts that boil down to "I really want to hear Janet's take on X, but I don't want to email her about it because I know she's so busy and has so many other things to talk about." I myself have posted one such comment in the last month. Truly, I think I've learned more about this industry from this blog than any other source.
This is one of the very few blogs I read nearly every single day. And I'm not even searching for representation. Nor am I planning to - but I learn so much here.
Beyond that, I'm invested in the people here, on an emotional level, and genuinely care about what everyone is doing in both their personal and writing life.
Janet, thank you for all your hard work.
I am not a Quiet Reader because I just don't have the self-control. Unfortunately, whenever I am learning my mouth tends to flap. Or my fingers on the keyboard.
I agree with everything that has been said by indignant and encouraging readers, quiet and otherwise. And I would add this.
The blog is not just for information. It's for perseverance. Sure, I've read your posts that say you don't care whether the author has a marketing plan. But after going to the web sites of various agents that seem to care very much about the marketing plan, it does my heart good to come back here and hear you say it again.
That's just the latest example.
Noooooooo
Thanks, Kristin :)
Whew!
No! No, no, nonononono!
I don't comment every day, but I read every day. I haven't written much of anything in well over a year now, but that doesn't mean I won't. And if I do again, I want to know what's going on in the big, bad world of publishing.
You might think you're repeating yourself and maybe, sometimes you are. But the publishing world changes. It ebbs and flows just like everything else and something that might have been the status quo when you started this, isn't anymore. So when you think you're repeating yourself, you're not. You're reflecting the current state of publishing, agents, WIP's, marketing, online presence...on and on.
So...no. Just...no.
My heartfelt thanks to Kristin! This blog is something I look forward to every morning, and I've learned so much.
This blog is the first thing I read every morning. I comment only when I feel I have value to add, but I always go back later in the day to read everyone's comments. I've learned much from them. This is a wonderful community.
You've been kind enough to use several of my questions. Receiving an email response "Good question. Expect it in an upcoming blog" is a thrill. Almost as big as when the blog with my questions posts. I've yet to have guessed correctly how you'd answer.
You aren't repeating yourself. Even if you were it'd still have tremendous value. I hope you'll attend BoucherCon in Dallas later this year so I can buy you a 'thank you' drink. Actually, a million drinks wouldn't be gratitude enough for all you do, but I'd still like to say thank you.
I read this blog first thing every morning, so I am very grateful to Kristin. I always recommend the blog to writers who are starting out. It's a valuable resource. New posts, even if they're variations on old topics, will attract new readers. Thanks, Janet.
This is one of the few blogs I read every day. I'm a HS teacher and am in my classroom by 7:15 every day, so I rarely comment. But I DO read!! This blog played a huge role in viewing writing as a career and in selling my first book. And it's a resource I recommend to new writers all. the. time.
So yay for Kristen!
Oh my god, don't stop! I got an agent because of you! I've made connections through this blog! I have a wee bit more understanding of the industry! It's an indispensable part of my morning routine. Yes, I'm very quiet too, but mostly because all the action here happens during the day and I have a day job. By the time I'm ready to comment, the post has gone to sleep. I'll comment more if that means you keep going!
Pleeeeese don't stop!
I will echo the great minds here: please please don't stop! So much of the Internet has become a billboard-strewn wasteland. This blog is invaluable, a lifeline for some of your readers. For some, publishing something like this could be considered a life's work. I know you have a lot of other life's work, a lot of pots in the fire, but I think if you dropped this, you might wind up missing it. I know a lot of people here would.
Never quit. I read your posts every day. Your posts give me inspiration. Thanks for all that you do for writers.
Thank you, Kristin. Nothing like some flames, thunder, and tea-spoon-wielding over breakfast. You've made me a phenomenal birthday present by keeping this blog going. I'm quite new here and just starting my journey of discovery, but I'd miss my daily high noon blog reading.
Once, when I was all sad and philosophical and proclaimed my own uselessness on account of constantly repeating myself and my students still making the same mistake, a very kind soul told me that every time I repeat myself, somebody new is finally in a place to hear me, understand, and learn.
I needed to come back and add - I even learned how to format manuscripts correctly by reading this blog. Really. Until one post sometime last year, I was tabbing my paragraph starts. I literally did not know how to set up Word (or scrivener for that matter) to indent paragraphs automatically.
Nothing you post about is wasted material.
Please add me to the list of Quiet Readers who eagerly seeks out your wit and wisdom each day. If you left, what would become of us? The reef needs a toothy, organizing influence! And what of the forests, were you to retire from blogging? Anxious woodland creatures would run amok, annoying agents, editors, and random hikers alike. Your generosity of time and spirit is still so appreciated. Please don't go.
Second, third and fourth what everyone has written. Please continue, and thanks from another one of your Silent But Devoted Readers.
Well, blessings on Kristin and her flamethrower!
I know not as many people post as once did, in the heyday of blogs, and sometimes I have worried that you might follow the fashion and give up your blog in favour of whatever the next big thing might be - or maybe even just stop communicating with the woodland altogether! Quelle horreur! My hamster wheel trembles at the thought.
Another Quiet Reider here. Just reading "I've been thinking about stopping" made my heart combat roll out of my throat and under the couch.
I rarely comment (it took me years to say anything), but I, like many others, visit this blog every day. This blog and Query Shark have been the Oh Captain My Captains of my writing education (hell, my characters would still be describing themselves in front of the mirror if not for you).
And advice changes. I've been re-reading the Snarkives recently, and it's incredible how many posts are devoted to SASEs and forever stamps. As times change or issues emerge in the writing world, I'm sure I'm not the only one who rushes to your blog thinking "I hope someone asks Janet about this!".
Thank you for everything, and thank you Kristin for force-feeding our queen a teaspoon of sense.
Do keep on. Thank you.
Thank you, Kristin. :)
NO NO NO NO NO, NAY, NEVER STOP!!!!!
And... thanks Kristen
And... be warned, we’ll get your departed finishing-school teacher and her hatpin on board.
Far better that you take a day, or days, off from the blog - whenever you need, as many as you need - than to feel it’s running you rather than vice versa. (I’ve never known how you manage it all.) Or else throw it over to us, built around some central theme: favourite biographies/histories/whatevers, little-known writers we love, past or present, most embarrassing moments - the list is endless. There is a treasure trove of combined experience and talent here. Let us give something back to you, considering that we receive so much.
Please give yourself breaks whenever you need them, and take good care of the irreplaceable machinery that keeps the sharks swimming, and healthy, and nourished. Whatever that takes.
We’ll still be here.
I read your blog first thing every morning. Thank you for your steadfastness and commitment. Can’t tell you how valuable your words have been. (But I should have! Thanks, Kristin, for speaking on behalf of the lurkers!) I might have given up writing if not for this resource.
Please Janet/AKA Fierce Shark -- don't leave us! I'm also a usually quiet reader. Although, I do sometimes speak to topics of interest. Here's the thing: you may not realize how helpful it is to have a place to discuss the often confusing and intimidating world of publishing in safety and with someone who cares for us -- the great unwashed and unachieved writers. I frequently refer members of my online writers workshop to your blogs - particularly those who are new and still learning (as are we all). There aren't many places (on or offline) where newbies can learn without threat of being attacked, disrespected or misled. You provide that place and it is so very appreciated. PLEASE never leave us to struggle alone.
Thank you, Kristin!
I've become an Increasingly Quiet Reider, especially over the past year. There are a lot of reasons for that, some of them even printable. But that's beside the point.
The point is that checking in on the topic of the day is one of the highlights of my morning. One of the things that gives me the strength to keep querying, because it shows me that light up ahead ain't an oncoming train.
Someday I'll find an agent, and it will be partly thanks to this blog. And I'll still keep reading, even after I'm a well-agented, well known author-about-town, because the blog is just that indispensable and irresistible.
Your posts are the last thing I read before leaving for my day job. They are my last grasp at writer-world before entering earning-a-living-world.
Don't stop. Rebalance if you need to.
Not sure what a heart attack feels like, but mine certainly stopped for several beats there while my eyes raced ahead feverishly. "She didn't just say that, did she?" no no no no no no NO!!!
Breathing again, what felt like aeons later, it dawned on me just how much I cherish and value your blog, O Sharkly One. Please please please please PLEASE do not stop. As CynthiaMc wrote, rebalance if you need to - but please don't leave us!
And thank you thank you THANK YOU Kristin!!!
Lifting my glass (of water) to Kristin!
Every morning (or as soon as I check my computer, which is sometimes night), I check my email, FB, and this blog. Even after years of reading almost every day, I still learn stuff all the time.
And I'm with Melanie - I love the community built up around this blog. There are lots of writing groups but THERE IS ONLY ONE REEF!
Thank you, Kristen!!!
Thank you, Kristen!
I'm also a mostly Quiet Reider, and have been reading daily for about 5 years. And I've found this place -- both the posts and the comments -- invaluable in advancing my writing career.
I have been a Quiet Reider for about a year now. This blog is insightful, delightful, and occasionally wicked. Full of shared wisdom from The Shark and all of us chum! It's often the highlight of my day. Take a breather if you must, O Queen of the Reef, but please do not leave us without your wisdom or this community that you have built.
I can understand wanting to stop. Back when I was dog blogging, I did seven days a week for awhile, and then three, and then more sporadically, and then stopped around my second fiction publication. Years later, I wrestled the sign-in out of my memory to post that Elka passed; it's a specifically terrible thing when a dog blog just goes silent.
Granted, if this blog were to go silent, I think we'd all head for New York City to check in and see if you were all right! Not that I think you'd just stop without warning. But the reef is such a unique and valuable experience, your words and wisdom would truly be missed!
Additionally, on an off topic and less fraught note, today is Ulrike's 1st birthday!
All hail Kristin! Huzzah! Glory to the Silent Reiders!
I am not a silent reader. At least, I haven't been for a few years now. I show up regularly, even if it's not every day. On some days I come back, once, twice, even three times and every time I do I learn something new.
Okay, so things might repeat now and then. But some of us really do need things pounded through our thick skulls (ME! ME! ME!) Note: I am more than willing to provide blog fodder too. Like now I'm wondering what do agents do when their writers want to 'retire' and vice versa?
While I realize we writers are not entitled to your time—you certainly do not owe us this blog!–this is the (virtual) place I look forward to every morning. This community, this blog, is a space unlike any other out there. It's the best. That said, if shutting down is what you need to do for you, then I repeat, you do not owe us this blog. I'll howl and wail at the loss, but I'm not going to stand behind you with a harpoon. Do what you need to do for you.
I am a loud and avid vommeter. Some of it good, most of it sucky. I visit here every day, both for my Queen and for the others who are members of the vommeting community.
I have seen a few subjects broached twice. They were not the same the second time. There were nuanced differences that have to do with a changing scene in the publishing world. Those nuances are as important as the original post.
Thank you for all of the time and consideration you have bestowed on us, I would be lost without it because I am in the throes of querying. Every rejection, NORMAN< and failure to connect prey upon my confidence. This place, somewhat, restores my sanity.
I know I’m just one voice, but your blog is amazing, incredible, uncanny, and numerous other adjectives used to describe Marvel comic heroes. More seriously, I read your blog every day, continually learn from it, and just want to say THANK YOU for your tremendous investment in us readers/writers.
Probably you've heard that old saying, usually said by harried mothers to their young children: "If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times . . . " The thing is, it takes a couple thousand times. That's how children are socialized. Pretty sure it's how woodland creatures learn, too. I wouldn't worry about repetition. And as others have said, your answers do change over time.
I know how motivation falters after blogging for a very long time, especially if it feels like your audience is becoming less receptive or responsive. I've been at it for almost 13 years (not daily; that's insane) and have considered quitting many many times. I doubt anyone would notice or care at this point. But a wise friend warned that as soon as I quit I'd think up something I just had to say, and have no place to say it.
Side note to all you Quiet Readers: Do you know what keeps a blog alive? People who comment. People who send in questions. Don't get me wrong, seeing visitor numbers in your blog stats is VERY nice. But people who engage are like a shot of pure adrenaline to a weary blogger. Just something to consider.
Jennifer! Did I somehow miss that Elka had passed? I'm so, so sorry for your loss. She was pretty special.
Holy cow...I thought for a hot second that this was your goodbye post. And I would have cried. PLEASE don't stop. I've learned so so soooo much here, and without you I'm not sure I EVER would have figured out the publishing world. There are too many people out there that need your wisdom! THANK YOU for doing what you do. I'm a pretty silent reader too, but I read every day. Thanks for taking the time to keep this corner of the internet alive!
Three cheers for Kristin from another relatively quiet blog reader!
>>with flames shooting from her iPhone (yes, there's an app for that)
I have a gun app on my iPhone, downloaded for me by my son before he left for Navy boot camp. We fought each other on that app for several weeks before he left. I miss playing it with him.
Blogging every day is insane. I do it every April for the A-to-Z Blogging Challenge, and I'm exhausted when the month's over. I'm supposed to write a reflections post for tomorrow but it's gonna be late. I wouldn't blame you for cutting back to something like 3x per week. Maybe photos of DoY on the other days. Or just have each post cover 2 days. But it's really nice for those of us "out here in the trenches" who have so many questions to have someone who will actually take the time to answer them. For every question you answer, there are probably at least 10 people out here who had that same question, and another 10 who didn't even know to ask.
I just came home from my second memorial service for a family member and/or good friend in the past 30 days. There have been 4 in the past 18 months. I expect to attend 2 more in the next 6 months. It's nice to come here, relax, and be among friends. Thank you for the reef.
But if you stop, Barbara Poelle wins!
In all seriousness, thank you Kristin and thank you Janet. This blog and its community are wonderful, and I'd be sad to see it go away. I echo a bunch of the comments above: please don't leave us yet!
[Swoons onto chaise longue and grasps smelling salts]
Thank you Kristin.
I check in on the blog every evening, and while I'd completely understand cutting back, I'd be very sad to see it go. It matters in a way very few do.
This blog and query shark are two of the single most valuable writer's resources I've found.
No, No, No, No, No, No, NO, No.
I've been crazy busy on my WIP, so haven't been able to comment much lately, so I'd blame myself. The benefits I've received from this blog would fill a trilogy.
Quick story:
There was a town near me called Times Beach. It was a small town, little behind the times, but a tight-knit community. In the summer months, a hired guy came in and sprayed the roads for various reasons. Turned out he was spraying with dioxin and it turned out to be carcinogenic. The federal government closed the town. Everyone had to leave.
As you'd expect, they didn't all pack up and move fifteen miles down the road and start a new settlement. Some moved in with family elsewhere, some moved to various parts of the state, some moved out of state. But the town died. Virtually overnight.
I have forever wondered how many relationships ended abruptly and how many times -- if ever -- townsfolk have gotten together. I suspect the answer is never, and they have all lead lives wondering about each other.
So, there are two things I'd dearly miss. First, this is the only blog I visit every day, so I'd certainly miss the wit and wisdom. Second, this is the only blog I visit every day, so I'd also miss the camaraderie and community of the Reiders.
I've always considered this blog a neighborhood. Keep the light on as long as you can. OTOH, I understand if you have to travel a little.
Thanks Kristin. I'm new to this blog so everything you write is new to me.
Jeez, Janet, you almost gave me a heart attack and I just about woke up everyone in the house and down the street! I know you spend a lot of valuable time doing this blog, but what you do here for us Reiders is invaluable. We can't thank you enough. Am I being greedy for not wanting you to stop? I am, I just ended my blog after 13 years so I can understand, but maybe you can cut back a bit and not feel obligated to post every day. We won't mind.
I may comment a lot less now and almost never while I care for my mum, but even after a long day I look forward to reading your posts. I think you would be amazed at how many people come to the reef on a daily basis just to swim in your waters for a little while.
So, I add my thanks to Kristin as well.
Thank you Kristin! I'm a silent reader myself but I read every week and I live for these posts.
I'm a loyal, if quiet, reader. I've read every post since back when you posted only occasionally; the first one I remember reading was about the death of a childhood friend in the Pacific Northwest, where you grew up, and it was poignant enough to keep me coming back. You're responsible for at least 50% of my education in this industry, and that's a conservative estimate. I continue to learn from you. The whole agent-giving-advice blogging thing was born with you. If you ever quit (and of course that's your privilege), it will be the end of not just a blog, rather of an institution and indeed an era. Just so you know.
By the way, thanks for everything. And thank you too, Kristin.
Stephen Parrish
Editor, The Lascaux Review
No, no, no, no, my heart could not take your absence. Please stay with us. We'll be good. We are all so grateful for this blog- it is the only blog I read every day. Even when I don't comment.
I enter the contests when I can and read every day. Thank you for all the information and insight. Do what is best for you!
I read it just about first thing every morning! Just after Cape Cod Online. And I check Query Shark just in case.
Thank you, Kristin, for telling Janet, in no uncertain terms, what her blog means to us.
With gratitude,
Quiet reader every single day since 2013
Whew! Thank you, Kristin!
And thank you, Janet, for all that you do. I don't comment often, but I'm here reading AND writing. :)
Yours is the only agent blog I read, and I read daily. Sometimes I do already know what you say, but even then it's reinforcement which is greatly needed in this strange world of publishing. Often, though, I don't, and I'm so glad to learn from you. Please keep going!
Thank you Kristen and Janet, please, please, don't stop! Not yet! Virtually everything I know about publishing has come from this blog and other Reiders. I search and reread posts regularly, and certainly this is the only blog I read faithfully. Like so many others, it's the first thing I look at when I sit down to my computer each day. I love love love this blog. And QueryShark too!
Please do not stop! I am a spork-yielding reader. Sporks are really difficult to come, by so I use them sparingly. Your blog is spork-worthy -- a cross between a how-to and Mama's-not-happy morning read that keeps me writing and cursing.
I, too, am a quiet reader who has learned so much from you. My blood ran cold when I read that you have considered hanging up your fins! Your posts are my morning treat. I clear out my email, then it's time to read "Janet". The days when there's nothing to read are a little less fun.
My thanks to Kristin. I think you made all the quiet forest creatures squeak loudly on this one! We appreciate you so much.
Dear heavens, no. Don't even think of retiring. I don't comment every day, but there are few days I miss reading regardless of what's going on or how I feel and some days I feel like hammered dog crap. Especially since being gored in the leg by an elk horn in my own house. We shant discuss it.
Kristin is right. People are still discovering this wonderful blog. You know someone's going to ask something that needs to be discussed even though you were positive it's been discussed until the cows come home.
A while back, a twitter debate started about how Diana Gabaldon came up with the idea for Outlander. I thought, this has been discussed ad nauseum. Every reporter asks her that same question and people are going to bring it up again. Sure enough. Some people were convinced she came up with Claire first and added Jamie in. Nope, she had this vision of an 18th century Scotsman in kilts that was triggered by an episode of Dr. Who. She toyed with it a bit and realized she was going to need sexual tension, and said this.
Ho boy, the battle was on. How dare she think Claire was nothing but a plaything.
It's too bad she doesn't appreciate strong women.
Yes, this silliness went on for quite some time, but it goes to show even if you've plowed that ground to a fine silt, there's still something left to turn over.
So it is here. Besides, we would miss your pithy remarks and you would miss us.
I truly love this blog. Please keep going - there is so much value you add. Way to go Kristin! You did a great job representing the quiet readers of Janet's following. :)
Thank you Kristin! I'm in the same boat, for lack of commenting. But I read everyday! I pull up your blog and QueryShark every morning, excited to see a new blog or post! I just started my true query rounds almost 2 weeks ago (the first one was a test run...and glad for it too, because I learned a lot). I've read about 8 years of your old posts and can not imagine getting more information to prepare me for this stage! Thank you and keep up the good work...no pressure. :)
Like so many others, this is my morning coffee, my yoga, my news of the day, my touchstone. Thank you for this thankless work!
Most Magnificent Sharkness, for the last seven years I have navigated the depths of the publishing ocean with your shadow cruising above me. Without your predatory presence in my emails, your pearly toothed smile and your lethal advice, I would be tinned cat food by now.
Please don't go, just have a shark nap (which is sleeping with your eyes open, of course).
With love and grateful offerings for future feeding frenzies
Celeste
I read your blog when I wake up in the morning (well, night here in PST 4am). It's usually the arsenic hour when I have a 1000 thoughts and creative insecurities running through my head.
Also I read you before you even had this blog! Don't go. Retirement is highly over-rated.
Besides woodland creature herders don't retire they just adjust their herders staff and find a great new hat
And try some great purple gin from Victoria BC. I just found it last weekend on Saturday visit across the strait of San Juan de Fuca. Highly recommend it to change your mind
We'd all miss you!
Kate
Thank you Kristin! And more especially, thank YOU, Janet. Your blog is one of the first things I read each day, often before I even roll out of bed. And it's not just for your advice. It's because of YOU. I adore the community you've built here and your much-needed reminders to get off our hamster-wheels and occasional bops to the head. (I'm doing my first query critique with an agent at a conference this weekend, thanks to your bopping.)
Kristin, thank you for letting the QOTKU know how important and valuable her blog is!
*Mostly* quiet reader here.
After reading all the queries on Query Shark, reading all the posts on this blog and all comments,after multiple edits/rewrites of my WIP, multiple edits/rewrites of my query letter, I am finally ready to start querying. Sent my first one last week.
I couldn't have done it without Janet's advise, and all the comments/questions posted here. This blog has been a life line to a newbie writer, such as myself. In fact, I revisit older posts regularly, to refresh my confidence, get inspired, and generally to see what's happening with readers.
Thank you, Kristin. Thank you, Janet.
I also look forward to this blog every day.
When I found it two years ago I was a new writer making all the newbie mistakes.
I went back through as many old posts as I could find, and I’m sure I missed a lot. While I wouldn’t want you to feel like you have to continue doing something you really don’t enjoy any more, if it’s a question of not wanting to repeat yourself, repeat away. This blog is more than just the information you provide. It’s also the humor and sense of community.
Another thank you to Kristin for speaking up for the Quiet Reiders
I, too, am a quiet reader. I only discovered you about a year ago so I have not tired of reading your blog--not by a long shot!
I am a freelance editor and I frequently direct my clients to your blog when they ask me about queries and the like.
Please don't stop. I enjoy your snarkiness as much as your wisdom.
Thank you Kristin!
I know I'm only active here in spurts, but I always appreciate the posts and read the archives if I've missed a few. I send my fellow un-agented authors here whenever they start the query process -- and let them know they should read the archives -- TWICE.
Huzzah for Kristen! I agree! I may not currently be in the trenches, but just about everything I read here deepens my understanding of this nutty business.
You MAY NOT stop*! DIS! WILL! NOT! STAND! (in the words of one, small, fictional panda!)
And when you're not instructing, you are entertaining, not to mention having created this wonderful community. I may not have time to comment much right now, but I always read EVERY POST!!!!
(* Not that I would dream of trying to boss you around. Please don't send me to Carkoon)
No, you may not go. I've already had one traumatic, devastating loss within the last 12 months. Just the thought of this blog not being here makes me realize what I would miss: invaluable information regarding all things writing--from you, of course, and the reiders--and a place to chill and enjoy some humor and also a break from the frustrations of trying to finish a novel. Thank you so much for what you do, for this wonderful resource. Kiss, kiss on your snout (yes I'm willing to risk it!).
Thank you, Kristin, for saying what we all feel: this blog is an excellent one-stop resource for learning how Not To Be Stupid when getting published.
We need it. This blog is wanted. Janet's advice is needed, and not just as an outdated archive. While some principles are perennial (like don't burn your bridges), things change in publishing. To upkeep this blog reflects those changes and makes it all current and relevant.
I was going to mention this earlier and forgot.
Did anyone notice that this gets named as one of the top 100 writer's blogs every year? That ought to be a pretty solid indication of the value. A lot of people read this blog and find great worth here. No, Ms. Reid, you will not be allowed rest.
I agree with Kristin. :)
Of all the days to be distracted from my daily Reid.
Janet, in your heart of hearts you must do what you must do my friend. And I call you my friend because you have been a staple in my life for many many years. Not just the writing years either.
You are the first I went to when I HAD to write about the reality of coming so damn close to taking my last breath.
Why...because you are the opening we stand beside while imagining and striving for our place in the writing world.
Do what you must do but always remember the niches, cracks, crevices and gaping holes in our dreams you fill every day. It is a burden I am sure. One not lightly taken. But dear Janet...sorry...I can't go on...my eyes are awash.
I love this blog! I tell anyone I know interested in writing to read it.
And I could probably think of like 34539298475 questions to send you if you need more content. :D
BUT I also know it's a lot of work, so I'd understand if you stopped.
Thank you, Kristin! I've quietly stalked the Shark for many years, and love the blog. I don't think I have ever commented. Even if you do feel as if you're repeating yourself, you still end up phrasing things differently--sometimes I'll read something I know you've said before, but for whatever reason, it clicks. Please, continue to say it again. Especially for those of us in the back. :)
If there's one way to overwork the comments box it's to scare us like that. This will be comment 78!!
Thank goodness Kristin was there to vanquish such thoughts.
This blog has created a community and when you finally close its doors we'll lose that as well. Not to mention the incredible resource you've created (eg I linked to one of your posts in a comment on Jessica Faust's blog this week).
I know this is a lot of work but never think we don't appreciate ever word.
nightsmusic Yes, Elka died on July 16, 2018. 9 years and one day since we brought her home. It was what affects so many Dobermans, DCM, and we did our best for her. Thank you very much, we thought she was special too <3
(also, we lasted about a week before reaching out to breeders, and somebody local-ish had a little girl she'd been thinking of keeping. So "little" Ulrike just turned 1 this past Sunday)
Jennifer Me deepest apologies to you. We lost our Ciine on the 9th of July last year. I must have been too caught up in my own haze. She'd turned 11 two days prior. I'm so sorry. Though we had Murphy (still do) he hasn't been the same since. They take a little piece of you, I think. It's not hard to do when you give your whole heart to them.
Happy Birthday, Ulrike. Please give her a big hug for me. (I love her name!)
nightsmusic thank you, and condolences to you as well (and Murphy, poor guy). The grief just bulldozes you, I find, and also hits you at inopportune moments (though all grief does this, I find. Not "just" pet grief). Getting a puppy so soon was both awful and pretty good. Her quirks are not Elka's quirks, and besides, the raising of a working breed puppy doesn't leave much room for dwelling upon things!
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