When I was in high school, I was pretty good at being able to find a musical note. I was close to having relative pitch, not perfect pitch. I wished I had perfect pitch back then. And in a totally different context, I wish I had perfect pitch today.
The perfect pitch I am talking about today isn't musical. It is in making the pitch to catch an agent's eye. Oddly enough, that is the name of a book I bought today. "Making the Perfect Pitch. How to Catch a Literary Agent's Eye," by Kathryn Sands.
Now, I know what you are thinking. You are thinking that's just more research. You'd be right. But I need some more guidance in getting noticed and I thought this book looked good. In fact, an author I know from my local chapter of Sisters in Crime also recommended it, although I already had it by the time she mentioned it to me.
I am going to try to plow through it quickly and refine my query letter yet again. And if that's what it takes, then that is what it takes.
And in the meantime, I am going to work harder on "Death at the Jungle-bunny Journal." While I know I can't finish it by the end of March, I can keep finish it by the end of May, which was my original deadline.
Whether I finish it on time or not, I will keep writing because there is another book right behind it waiting to be born. In fact, I am only into the second book in a stream of six book ideas.
More about that later, perhaps. But for now, thanks for reading and keep writing.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Long Live William F. Buckley Jr.
William F. Buckley Jr., a well-spoken, witty intellectual, editor, political commentator and author, died today. He was 82.
Since I started this blog nearly three months ago, one of my brothers has repeatedly urged me to speak out on the political issues of the day, to add some controversy to my postings. He says I will get more hits on the site. And he may be correct about that.
But I have resisted because the purpose of this blog is to talk about my journey as a writer __ from being an aspiring novelist to a published novelist. That is the purpose of this posting today. Because while it may not seem like it, William F. Buckley had a tremendous influence on me, both as a writer and a thinker.
I am not a political conservative and generally find most conservative viewpoints repugnant. I certainly disagreed with Buckley. But he was a great thinker, full of wit and passion, and through his intelligent discourse, forced people to more deeply examine their political views and the rationale supporting those views. He emboldened post-World War II conservatism with a heft that today's intellectual lightweights, such as Rush Limbaugh, can not emulate.
But most of all, I love his fiction. (There are those who say all of his writing was fictional but that is an argument for another day.) I probably have more books in my library by Buckley than by any other author. In particular, I love his series with the fictional character Blackford Oakes. In 10 or 11 books (I forget which), we see Oakes progress through a career in the CIA. Starting with "Saving the Queen" and all the way through "Last Call for Blackford Oakes" (not one of my favorites, by the way), the series is as compelling as it is literate.
In many ways, the main character in my novel, "Fighting Chaos," is patterned after Blackford Oakes. Both are Ivy Leaguers, tall and handsome. Oakes was a Yale grad, while my character, Brewster Monroe, was a Penn grad. Both were recruited early into the CIA and traveled extensively aboard. Both have a moral center and intellectually struggle to keep a balance in a world that isn't always black and white.
Nowhere is that more apparent to me than in his second Blackford Oakes novel, "Stained Glass." It is set in the early 1950s, examined the issue of German unification and the price of one man's life.
It was no mistake that in the beginning of "Chaos," Brewster is posing as a West German businessman from Westphalia, which is a region in the north and west. Westphalia was the location Buckley used in "Stained Glass," which, 30 years later, remains my favorite Buckley novel.
Also the first two chapters of "Fighting Chaos" take place in Beirut, which Buckley used extensively in "Spytime: The Undoing of James Jesus Angleton." The book is not part of the Blackford Oakes series but I was inspired by Buckley to use the Lebanese capital as a location.
In praise of "Spytime," USA Today wrote, ". . . between running to the library to see what's fact and what's fiction and looking up words such as succubus and recondite, Spytime is a quiet-time read for those who like their espionage erudite and their intelligence intelligent."
I like my espionage erudite and my intelligence intelligent. And I have tried to show that in "Chaos."
As a journalist I have met many, many famous people but William F. Buckley Jr., unfortunately, wasn't one of them. Now, of course, I never will. But he has left a legacy of excellence in storytelling and writing that I will try __ undoubtedly without successful __ to live up to. But it will always be the goal.
Since I started this blog nearly three months ago, one of my brothers has repeatedly urged me to speak out on the political issues of the day, to add some controversy to my postings. He says I will get more hits on the site. And he may be correct about that.
But I have resisted because the purpose of this blog is to talk about my journey as a writer __ from being an aspiring novelist to a published novelist. That is the purpose of this posting today. Because while it may not seem like it, William F. Buckley had a tremendous influence on me, both as a writer and a thinker.
I am not a political conservative and generally find most conservative viewpoints repugnant. I certainly disagreed with Buckley. But he was a great thinker, full of wit and passion, and through his intelligent discourse, forced people to more deeply examine their political views and the rationale supporting those views. He emboldened post-World War II conservatism with a heft that today's intellectual lightweights, such as Rush Limbaugh, can not emulate.
But most of all, I love his fiction. (There are those who say all of his writing was fictional but that is an argument for another day.) I probably have more books in my library by Buckley than by any other author. In particular, I love his series with the fictional character Blackford Oakes. In 10 or 11 books (I forget which), we see Oakes progress through a career in the CIA. Starting with "Saving the Queen" and all the way through "Last Call for Blackford Oakes" (not one of my favorites, by the way), the series is as compelling as it is literate.
In many ways, the main character in my novel, "Fighting Chaos," is patterned after Blackford Oakes. Both are Ivy Leaguers, tall and handsome. Oakes was a Yale grad, while my character, Brewster Monroe, was a Penn grad. Both were recruited early into the CIA and traveled extensively aboard. Both have a moral center and intellectually struggle to keep a balance in a world that isn't always black and white.
Nowhere is that more apparent to me than in his second Blackford Oakes novel, "Stained Glass." It is set in the early 1950s, examined the issue of German unification and the price of one man's life.
It was no mistake that in the beginning of "Chaos," Brewster is posing as a West German businessman from Westphalia, which is a region in the north and west. Westphalia was the location Buckley used in "Stained Glass," which, 30 years later, remains my favorite Buckley novel.
Also the first two chapters of "Fighting Chaos" take place in Beirut, which Buckley used extensively in "Spytime: The Undoing of James Jesus Angleton." The book is not part of the Blackford Oakes series but I was inspired by Buckley to use the Lebanese capital as a location.
In praise of "Spytime," USA Today wrote, ". . . between running to the library to see what's fact and what's fiction and looking up words such as succubus and recondite, Spytime is a quiet-time read for those who like their espionage erudite and their intelligence intelligent."
I like my espionage erudite and my intelligence intelligent. And I have tried to show that in "Chaos."
As a journalist I have met many, many famous people but William F. Buckley Jr., unfortunately, wasn't one of them. Now, of course, I never will. But he has left a legacy of excellence in storytelling and writing that I will try __ undoubtedly without successful __ to live up to. But it will always be the goal.
He held some views that were dreadful, particularly in his youth. But on the whole, his sometimes sardonic smile and razor-sharp wit will be missed.
Long live William F. Buckley Jr.
Thanks for reading and don't give up writing.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Having fun
I have noticed something from reading some of my writing. The parts that I find the most fun to read also tend to be the parts that were the most fun to write.
There is no way to maintain a high level of energy consistently throughout a novel. There needs to be a little down time in preparation for the next bit of excitment. So it also is with writing.
Whenever I really struggle over a scene or two, or, in other words, when I am getting bored with a scene or two, I realize that if I can't make the scene interesting and fun for me to write, it won't was interesting and fun to read. So I move quickly through it. I don't worry over a lot of words and intricate description. I get right to it.
Take a murder scene, of example.
Instead of describing the furniture and its location, what was on the walls, where the telephone was sitting, who was there and the intricate movement of the people, if I am uninterested in the scene, though it is necessary for the plot, I merely say, "John was shot dead in the livingroom."
Then I move on.
If I can't make it interesting to me, I can't make it interesting to a reader.
Have a good week. Thanks for reading and don't give up on writing.
There is no way to maintain a high level of energy consistently throughout a novel. There needs to be a little down time in preparation for the next bit of excitment. So it also is with writing.
Whenever I really struggle over a scene or two, or, in other words, when I am getting bored with a scene or two, I realize that if I can't make the scene interesting and fun for me to write, it won't was interesting and fun to read. So I move quickly through it. I don't worry over a lot of words and intricate description. I get right to it.
Take a murder scene, of example.
Instead of describing the furniture and its location, what was on the walls, where the telephone was sitting, who was there and the intricate movement of the people, if I am uninterested in the scene, though it is necessary for the plot, I merely say, "John was shot dead in the livingroom."
Then I move on.
If I can't make it interesting to me, I can't make it interesting to a reader.
Have a good week. Thanks for reading and don't give up on writing.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Art vs. Business
I have come to a conclusion about something. It's nothing new. I have heard it before. But it is really sinking in.
Writing is an art. It's about word usage and painting a picture. Or it's like a singer illustrating a scene or developing a mood with their voice. Or a dancer making the perfect jump. It's art.
Getting published, on the other hand, is business. You can have the best written novel ever __ it can be really beautiful, a work of art __ but that isn't enough to get it in the hands of readers. Words alone between book covers isn't enough.
A writer must market themselves, first to potential agents, then to editors and publishers, and finally to readers. I was reading something last week in Writer's Digest where someone said book publishers are really good at some things __ getting a book, having it edited, printing it, packaging it, getting it into book stores and getting it on shelves. But what they are not good at is getting people to take them off of shelves. That, in large measure, is up to the writer.
But the writer can't do that with writing alone. There are sales and marketing strategies to work out and consider. There's money that will be needed. And all of this is needed whether a book is well-written or a piece of crap.
I am still working on the business end. I have a plan for finding an agent, I have this blog and perhaps will get a website, I am talking to other writers and some book store owners. I am networking. And if I get an advance on my novel, I will probably start a savings account solely dedicated to marketing and get a literary publicist.
Don't think I am getting ahead of myself. Of course, writing __ and writing well __ are the first part of my business plan. But it would be stupid to solely focus on the art and not consider the business.
That's all for now. Have a good weekend, enjoy the Oscars and I will see you next week.
Thanks for reading and don't give up on writing.
Writing is an art. It's about word usage and painting a picture. Or it's like a singer illustrating a scene or developing a mood with their voice. Or a dancer making the perfect jump. It's art.
Getting published, on the other hand, is business. You can have the best written novel ever __ it can be really beautiful, a work of art __ but that isn't enough to get it in the hands of readers. Words alone between book covers isn't enough.
A writer must market themselves, first to potential agents, then to editors and publishers, and finally to readers. I was reading something last week in Writer's Digest where someone said book publishers are really good at some things __ getting a book, having it edited, printing it, packaging it, getting it into book stores and getting it on shelves. But what they are not good at is getting people to take them off of shelves. That, in large measure, is up to the writer.
But the writer can't do that with writing alone. There are sales and marketing strategies to work out and consider. There's money that will be needed. And all of this is needed whether a book is well-written or a piece of crap.
I am still working on the business end. I have a plan for finding an agent, I have this blog and perhaps will get a website, I am talking to other writers and some book store owners. I am networking. And if I get an advance on my novel, I will probably start a savings account solely dedicated to marketing and get a literary publicist.
Don't think I am getting ahead of myself. Of course, writing __ and writing well __ are the first part of my business plan. But it would be stupid to solely focus on the art and not consider the business.
That's all for now. Have a good weekend, enjoy the Oscars and I will see you next week.
Thanks for reading and don't give up on writing.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
A hump
There is a point when you are writing something as long as a novel when the new-ness of the enterprise has worn off and the enormity of it all settles it. Consider that no matter how long it takes to read a book, it takes much longer to write it. And even with exciting book, there are peaks and valleys. You can't maintain the same level of excitment throughout the reading. And maintaining same level of excitment throughout the writing is also virtually impossible. Or at least it seems that way to me.
I started my second novel roughly six weeks ago. I still enjoy meeting the characters and discovering them and what motivates them. And I am still surprised with the things that are developing.
But I am at a stage where it seems like no matter how much I write, I don't feel like I am getting closer to the end. The story is coming along nicely and I write and write and write but it seems like it will take forever to complete.
Now is the time when, as a writer, I have to buckle down and just pound it out. That seems simple but that is the only plan I have. So I will just keep pounding it out. And hopefully one day I will wake up and see that I have 75,000 words done and will be within a week of finishing.
Then, I suspect, I will hit a snag like I hit when I neared the end of my first novel, "Fighting Chaos." When I got to the point where I was nearly done, I froze. The unfinished work had been a part of me for so long that I didn't know what I'd do when it was no longer unfinished.
I stopped writing for several days then had a big burst of writing energy and plunged forward.
I'm looking forward to that again. But for now, I just have to pound it out.
So that's it for now. Thanks for reading and don't give up on writing.
I started my second novel roughly six weeks ago. I still enjoy meeting the characters and discovering them and what motivates them. And I am still surprised with the things that are developing.
But I am at a stage where it seems like no matter how much I write, I don't feel like I am getting closer to the end. The story is coming along nicely and I write and write and write but it seems like it will take forever to complete.
Now is the time when, as a writer, I have to buckle down and just pound it out. That seems simple but that is the only plan I have. So I will just keep pounding it out. And hopefully one day I will wake up and see that I have 75,000 words done and will be within a week of finishing.
Then, I suspect, I will hit a snag like I hit when I neared the end of my first novel, "Fighting Chaos." When I got to the point where I was nearly done, I froze. The unfinished work had been a part of me for so long that I didn't know what I'd do when it was no longer unfinished.
I stopped writing for several days then had a big burst of writing energy and plunged forward.
I'm looking forward to that again. But for now, I just have to pound it out.
So that's it for now. Thanks for reading and don't give up on writing.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Rejections
I have noticed some things about my rejections.
So far, I have only queried via e-mail. I have a response in about half the queries I have sent, and all of those came within two business days of being sent. Regardless of what the agent says on their website, I now assume that if I don't hear back within three business days, I won't hear back at all.
But judging from the responses, I noticed something else. None of them turned me down because the writing was bad or the plot was dreadful or the narrative made no sense.
One said, "Unfortunately you've caught me at a time when the demands of my current clients leave me with very little time to devote to developing new talent." Another said, "Due to the high quantity of query letters I receive, I must be highly selective in requesting further materials to read. Unfortunately, I¹m afraid I must decline on this project right now, but I do want to encourage you to continue submitting."
I am not getting responses that say that I or my writing is crap.
Perhaps people are just being polite. After all, half the agents don't respond at all. But I'd like to think that the value of my work is getting some consideration and that it does have some value. There are countless reasons to reject someone's work other than its writing.
So, keep the faith. I know I am.
Thanks for reading and keep writing.
So far, I have only queried via e-mail. I have a response in about half the queries I have sent, and all of those came within two business days of being sent. Regardless of what the agent says on their website, I now assume that if I don't hear back within three business days, I won't hear back at all.
But judging from the responses, I noticed something else. None of them turned me down because the writing was bad or the plot was dreadful or the narrative made no sense.
One said, "Unfortunately you've caught me at a time when the demands of my current clients leave me with very little time to devote to developing new talent." Another said, "Due to the high quantity of query letters I receive, I must be highly selective in requesting further materials to read. Unfortunately, I¹m afraid I must decline on this project right now, but I do want to encourage you to continue submitting."
I am not getting responses that say that I or my writing is crap.
Perhaps people are just being polite. After all, half the agents don't respond at all. But I'd like to think that the value of my work is getting some consideration and that it does have some value. There are countless reasons to reject someone's work other than its writing.
So, keep the faith. I know I am.
Thanks for reading and keep writing.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Writer's Digest
I love Writer's Digest. I just love it. There are always so many helpful articles and it never fails to encourage me and my writing.
I saw a blurb on the cover and I immediately turned to the article and read it. As a result, I am modifying an area of my query letter that I fear can easily lead to rejection letters. And so far, I have gotten enough of those. I am sure more will come but in the end I will find an agent and get my work published.
Publishing is a hard business to crack but with some talent and lots of determination I am sure it can be done.
And so I must get back to writing. And you should too.
I saw a blurb on the cover and I immediately turned to the article and read it. As a result, I am modifying an area of my query letter that I fear can easily lead to rejection letters. And so far, I have gotten enough of those. I am sure more will come but in the end I will find an agent and get my work published.
Publishing is a hard business to crack but with some talent and lots of determination I am sure it can be done.
And so I must get back to writing. And you should too.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
More computer woes
I had intended to blog today about meeting a fellow author over the weekend but computer woes still top my agenda.
I was able to boot up last night and, before all the icons disappeared, was able to call up all of my mystery novel. Then I printed it out, using up most of my computer paper. (I need to go to Staples tomorrow and get computer paper, more black ink and some legal pads. As a working journalist, I take notes on legal pads.) But I have a copy.
I plan to take my laptop tomorrow to a techie guy that was suggested to me by the editor of the business newspaper I freelance for. He said he can probably fix it and get the material off the hard drive. Happy to hear that. Since last Friday, I have been writing the novel directly into my yahoo account. Later I will merge what I have recently written with the material from the hard drive.
I have a friend in New York, bless his heart, who said I should get a Mac. That's not surprising since he has almost always used an Apple and currently works for Apple. He makes a good argument. He has always been a man of sound judgment.
But, as usual, I will probably not take his advice. And, as usual, I will suffer for it.
I hate being so predictable.
On to being a writer . . .
I haven't gotten any rejections lately. But I haven't gotten an agent yet, either. There are still a couple of queries out but I guess I need to step up sending out queries. I know there is an agent out there waiting for me to find them. I just wish they'd be a little more helpful in being found.
That's it for now. Thanks for reading and don't give up on writing.
I was able to boot up last night and, before all the icons disappeared, was able to call up all of my mystery novel. Then I printed it out, using up most of my computer paper. (I need to go to Staples tomorrow and get computer paper, more black ink and some legal pads. As a working journalist, I take notes on legal pads.) But I have a copy.
I plan to take my laptop tomorrow to a techie guy that was suggested to me by the editor of the business newspaper I freelance for. He said he can probably fix it and get the material off the hard drive. Happy to hear that. Since last Friday, I have been writing the novel directly into my yahoo account. Later I will merge what I have recently written with the material from the hard drive.
I have a friend in New York, bless his heart, who said I should get a Mac. That's not surprising since he has almost always used an Apple and currently works for Apple. He makes a good argument. He has always been a man of sound judgment.
But, as usual, I will probably not take his advice. And, as usual, I will suffer for it.
I hate being so predictable.
On to being a writer . . .
I haven't gotten any rejections lately. But I haven't gotten an agent yet, either. There are still a couple of queries out but I guess I need to step up sending out queries. I know there is an agent out there waiting for me to find them. I just wish they'd be a little more helpful in being found.
That's it for now. Thanks for reading and don't give up on writing.
Saturday, February 9, 2008
BACK UP YOUR WORK!
Hey. I have been gone for a couple of days because I am an idiot. I hadn't adequately done what I always tell people to do. BACK UP YOUR WORK!
I was working on my mystery novel late Wednesday night when I noticed something was wrong with my laptop. I minimized my text and saw that all the icons were gone. And since I had just minimized my text, so was what I was working on. It was gone and I had no way of getting it back.
I do have a memory stick that I back up work on and my goal is always to save material on it at least once a week. But I hadn't used it in at least two weeks. So anything from the hard drive from the last two weeks wasn't backed up.
I have all of the first draft of my first novel, "Fighting Chaos," backed up, as well as later versions. It is all there.
But between 6,000 to 9,000 words of the mystery novel, "Death at the Jungle-bunny Journal" (a working title, of course), are not.
Apparently, the virus on my laptop makes it virtually impossible for me to fully boot up __ icons come and go __ but it doesn't appear that text is damaged. That is my hope. And on Thursday I might have gotten the latest version of the novel backed up. I'm just not sure yet. If so, I now have all of "Death" that I had done so far.
The computer tech guy who looked at my laptop says it will probably be nearly as cheap to buy a new laptop as to repair the four-year-old computer I have. But he thinks he can recover the data on the hard drive.
My wife says we can't afford a new laptop now and will have to wait at least until next month. So I guess I will be doing a lot of writing in long-hand. I just hate the idea of having to type in all that copy later.
So the lesson here, my friends, is two-fold. Always have the latest version on virus software that you can get and ALWAYS back up your work. It will save you headaches, if nothing else, in the end.
Next week I plan to discuss meeting a guy who just had his first novel published. He was on a book tour and I met him at an event at a bookstore. And also I plan to talk about independent bookstores.
But for now, thanks for reading and don't give up on writing. (And back everything up.)
I was working on my mystery novel late Wednesday night when I noticed something was wrong with my laptop. I minimized my text and saw that all the icons were gone. And since I had just minimized my text, so was what I was working on. It was gone and I had no way of getting it back.
I do have a memory stick that I back up work on and my goal is always to save material on it at least once a week. But I hadn't used it in at least two weeks. So anything from the hard drive from the last two weeks wasn't backed up.
I have all of the first draft of my first novel, "Fighting Chaos," backed up, as well as later versions. It is all there.
But between 6,000 to 9,000 words of the mystery novel, "Death at the Jungle-bunny Journal" (a working title, of course), are not.
Apparently, the virus on my laptop makes it virtually impossible for me to fully boot up __ icons come and go __ but it doesn't appear that text is damaged. That is my hope. And on Thursday I might have gotten the latest version of the novel backed up. I'm just not sure yet. If so, I now have all of "Death" that I had done so far.
The computer tech guy who looked at my laptop says it will probably be nearly as cheap to buy a new laptop as to repair the four-year-old computer I have. But he thinks he can recover the data on the hard drive.
My wife says we can't afford a new laptop now and will have to wait at least until next month. So I guess I will be doing a lot of writing in long-hand. I just hate the idea of having to type in all that copy later.
So the lesson here, my friends, is two-fold. Always have the latest version on virus software that you can get and ALWAYS back up your work. It will save you headaches, if nothing else, in the end.
Next week I plan to discuss meeting a guy who just had his first novel published. He was on a book tour and I met him at an event at a bookstore. And also I plan to talk about independent bookstores.
But for now, thanks for reading and don't give up on writing. (And back everything up.)
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Borders
I was feeling sorry for myself today.
I took an online survey that Borders sent to me __ they promised it would only take 15 minutes and it took nearly 40. But I also got a 20 percent off coupon __ and it listed a couple dozen authors and asked what, as a reader, I thought about each. I hadn’t even heard of some of them.
But the common thread, of course, was that they are published and ae currently in bookstores. One book on addiction was nearly exactly the book I intended to tackle in the future, probably next year. (More on the reason why at another time.)
And once again I felt the weight of the challenge before me __ the challenge of getting published. Sometimes it feels like a burden I will never overcome.
But I noticed I got a comment from a blog posting from earlier this week and I felt better. And now, for the first time today, I have time to work on my next second novel, the murder mystery. I found both of those encouraging.
So this is the path I have chosen. That is to write fiction and to get published, and hopefully to make a living at it. I just have to have faith and keep at it. And so must you.
Thanks for reading and be encouraged. And keep writing!
I took an online survey that Borders sent to me __ they promised it would only take 15 minutes and it took nearly 40. But I also got a 20 percent off coupon __ and it listed a couple dozen authors and asked what, as a reader, I thought about each. I hadn’t even heard of some of them.
But the common thread, of course, was that they are published and ae currently in bookstores. One book on addiction was nearly exactly the book I intended to tackle in the future, probably next year. (More on the reason why at another time.)
And once again I felt the weight of the challenge before me __ the challenge of getting published. Sometimes it feels like a burden I will never overcome.
But I noticed I got a comment from a blog posting from earlier this week and I felt better. And now, for the first time today, I have time to work on my next second novel, the murder mystery. I found both of those encouraging.
So this is the path I have chosen. That is to write fiction and to get published, and hopefully to make a living at it. I just have to have faith and keep at it. And so must you.
Thanks for reading and be encouraged. And keep writing!
Monday, February 4, 2008
A visit to a post office
I was talking over the weekend to a very good friend who lives in rural backwater Virginia, a half hour’s drive from Charlottesville. Rachel and her husband Colin (not their real names, of course) have one of the nicest homes of any of our friends. Their house sits on a plateau at the base of a mountain and looks out over a mountain range in the distance. It’s beautiful and serene and I love being there because I always feel at peace. We may take the children there for spring break this year.
I met Rachel (still not her real name) while I was in college, so we have known each other for years. For more than 20 years she worked as a reporter and then as an editor at one of the top newspapers in the country before she and hubby moved to Virginia. She is a wonderful writer and perhaps the most well-read person I know. But she does not read John Grisham. She thinks little of his writing.
So it was a bit ironic last Friday when she went to her post office in rural backwater Virginia to pick up her mail and bumped into Grisham who was there picking up his mail. (I wondered whether he was there to pick up royalty checks from his latest novel, “The Appeal,” which, as it turns out, isn’t destined to be one of my favorites.) Recognizing him, she said hello. Then she recognized that he wouldn’t recognize her because he is a celeb and she isn’t. But he was polite nonetheless.
What she did not do was go “hack, hack, hack” as she pretended to cough as Colin (still not his real name) suggested she should have done. She also didn’t wrestle him to the ground and badger him about her having a longtime friend (me) who had just finished his first novel called “Fighting Chaos” and needed an agent. That's what I wished she had done.
But since she didn’t, I guess when we next go visit Rachel and Colin, I will just have to hang out at the local post office all the time. Just my luck, I’d probably see Mary Chapin Carpenter instead. She also lives in the area.
Thanks for reading and don’t give up on writing.
I met Rachel (still not her real name) while I was in college, so we have known each other for years. For more than 20 years she worked as a reporter and then as an editor at one of the top newspapers in the country before she and hubby moved to Virginia. She is a wonderful writer and perhaps the most well-read person I know. But she does not read John Grisham. She thinks little of his writing.
So it was a bit ironic last Friday when she went to her post office in rural backwater Virginia to pick up her mail and bumped into Grisham who was there picking up his mail. (I wondered whether he was there to pick up royalty checks from his latest novel, “The Appeal,” which, as it turns out, isn’t destined to be one of my favorites.) Recognizing him, she said hello. Then she recognized that he wouldn’t recognize her because he is a celeb and she isn’t. But he was polite nonetheless.
What she did not do was go “hack, hack, hack” as she pretended to cough as Colin (still not his real name) suggested she should have done. She also didn’t wrestle him to the ground and badger him about her having a longtime friend (me) who had just finished his first novel called “Fighting Chaos” and needed an agent. That's what I wished she had done.
But since she didn’t, I guess when we next go visit Rachel and Colin, I will just have to hang out at the local post office all the time. Just my luck, I’d probably see Mary Chapin Carpenter instead. She also lives in the area.
Thanks for reading and don’t give up on writing.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Feeling sad
I was feeling a little down this evening. I was at the bookstore __ I love bookstores, by the way. I go to the bookstore several times a week, even if I'm not going to buy something __ and noticed a nice black-covered book with a gold statute (did I spell that correctly?) on it. It was a murder mystery around the Oscars. Quite timely, don't you think?
It was interesting and I picked it up and read some of it while I sat in the coffee shop. Ultimately I didn't buy it, although I think I will in a week or so. But it was by a first-time author and it looked good and was interesting. And I thought, why can't that happen to me?
I wrote a nice book. It seems readable. Saleable. Why can't it be in bookstores?
I don't know how long it took for the author to get published but the ordeal of getting an agent and then getting published is a pain in the ass, it seems to me. I wish it were all done and then I could concentrate more heavily on my second novel. (I'm still thinking the novel starts too slowly but the important thing now is to get it all on paper and fix that later, if I still think it needs it.)
But, like I said a month ago, I think this is going to be my year. January is gone but it is only the first month. Things are going to look up. I just need to stay positive, work hard and be ready for whatever comes.
So, I have to get back to work. And you should, too. Write!
It was interesting and I picked it up and read some of it while I sat in the coffee shop. Ultimately I didn't buy it, although I think I will in a week or so. But it was by a first-time author and it looked good and was interesting. And I thought, why can't that happen to me?
I wrote a nice book. It seems readable. Saleable. Why can't it be in bookstores?
I don't know how long it took for the author to get published but the ordeal of getting an agent and then getting published is a pain in the ass, it seems to me. I wish it were all done and then I could concentrate more heavily on my second novel. (I'm still thinking the novel starts too slowly but the important thing now is to get it all on paper and fix that later, if I still think it needs it.)
But, like I said a month ago, I think this is going to be my year. January is gone but it is only the first month. Things are going to look up. I just need to stay positive, work hard and be ready for whatever comes.
So, I have to get back to work. And you should, too. Write!
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