A few writing-related bits
Fresh when it gets here from
Julie Barrett
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Yes, I'm blogging early this morning. Part of the cunning plan is to get down to cleaning. I saw this article at msnbc.com about one of their columnists who hired an organization expert.
Her theory is simple: “Does it belong in your office?” If not, get it out and store it.
I'll bet she doesn't have a garage overflowing with items belonging to a recently deceased relative. Yes, I know the answer: Get rid of it.
For now I'll be happy to toss what I can and reorganize the rest.
Via Dear Author, Top Ten Things Authors Should Not Do at Amazon. If you don't get the five-star review you know you deserve, suck it up. Better yet if you think you deserve nothing less than five-star reviews, perhaps you should be looking at a different career. As a voracious reader, I know that I'm not going to be completely overjoyed at every book I read. I also know that for every book I'm less than fond of, there are dozens who absolutely loved it, and vice-versa. Yes, it hurts to read a less than flattering review (actually, the one in question wasn't hurtful at all), but part of being a creative person means dealing with constructive criticism - not to mention the realization that not every single person on the planet is going to be enraptured by your work.
James Lilkes took one of his usual pot shots at Garrison Keillor in today's Bleat. The pot shots may be deserved. I mean, the inability to enjoy watching a kid play baseball because of the current occupant of the Oval Office? But I digress. Apparently Keillor wouldn't tell someone he was speaking with that he was a writer because it makes people clam up. Maybe when you talk politics it does. For me, it makes people want to ask me to read their manuscript.
But first, we have to have a conversation, during which I admit that they may have seen something I've written but not known it was me because I mostly write ad and web copy. What was the last thing I did? Well, there was this web site for a client ....
Oh.
It's a well-known fact that anyone can build a web site. Of course, not everyone can build a good web site, or write readable copy. I mean, who needs to spell, anyway?
Of course, being a writer means I either have nothing better to do than surf the web and watch soap operas all day, or that I crap out romance novels at an astounding rate. (I'm speaking from the POV of certain readers, obviously. I know some folks who turn out two or more novels in a year, and they're all good. I also know they work their tails off. I'm talking about novelists who are published by companies you've heard of. Books you can find in the bookstore and not just for download on some obscure e-publisher site. Oh, not that there's anything wrong with e-publishing. Don't get me started on THAT. There are some very good e-publishers out there. It's just that there are so many masquerading as real publishers that ... [checks blood pressure] Enough. Don't even write me and tell me you wonderful YOUR e-publisher is. If they're good, I already know it.)
Time to get to work. Wouldn't it be wonderful to be able to post a picture of my renovated writing space before the day is out? Don't hold your breath. My cunning plan for today was to spend it all at home, working. But dang it, we're out of cat food and I have a rebate on this new monitor that MUST be postmarked today. Forget the montior rebate, it's the cat food that's important. Silly me.
Tags: Writing,
Life
Filed under: Writing Life
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