Jun 6, 2008 | Fun |
A couple of months ago, Hubby bought me something I said I didn't need. A 32GB iPod Touch. I was happy with my Nano (the generation before this one that plays video) and really, 4GB was enough. But he insisted. He said I'd need it at the RWA National Conference this summer.
Yeah, right. He's never been to conference. He has no idea that you're lucky to snatch 4 hours of sleep a night, much less have time to listen to music.
But, oh my, I've fallen in love with this thing. I have videos on it. Music. Audiobooks. I can email. Watch You Tube. I can rent movies from iTunes to watch while traveling. Am I sorry I have this toy? No.
The other day, I had a doctor's appt. And they stuck me in the room to wait for the 30 minutes it takes the doctor to arrive. I read a book for a while. And then I watched videos. Awe-SOME.
Yes, this baby is going to San Francisco with me. How did I ever live without it?
Any toys you can't do without? Electronic gadgets that enhance your writing or make it easier for you to be organized? Do you even have an iPod? I can remember when I scoffed and didn't want the Nano. WHAT was I thinking? 🙂 If you do have an iPod, do you have your content organized? I admit to being too lazy to make playlists….
Jun 4, 2008 | Television |
I love Home & Garden Television. I enjoy watching people try to figure out which house to buy on House Hunters. And International House Hunters, especially when they're in Europe, is a lot of fun too. I like Designing to Sell, love Candace Olsen's Divine Design, and enjoy Get It Sold and Buy Me. And the outdoor stuff is cool too, especially Landscaper's Challenge and Ground Breakers.
So I was totally, completely unprepared for what happened the other night. Hubby's flipping channels as I'm working on my laptop on the couch. He comes across something called Mobile Home Disaster — on Country Music Television, not HGTV.
I thought it was a joke at first. But it really wasn't — though it WAS funny.
I nearly wet myself I laughed so hard. Maybe I wasn't supposed to laugh, but dang, these people go around and remodel trailers. Now, I've lived in a trailer park in my life (as a kid) so I probably shouldn't be so uppity. But it wasn't the remodeling that killed me. That was actually done amazingly well and the trailer was gorgeous when they were done. Couldn't even tell it was a trailer on the inside.
No, what made me giggle myself senseless was the family. The man actually kept a knife, salt shaker, and shot glass in a bathroom drawer. When the host asked what the slice marks on the countertop were, the woman explained that her fiance cut his limes there. For his tequila shooters. In the JOHN. Am I the only one who finds that hysterical?
Hubby's talking about putting a cutting board in our bathroom now. I'm pretty sure he's joking…
Have you seen this show? Or seen a show equally as hilarious to you? Because I was so amused I'm going to DVR this baby now. Who knows what other gems I may learn (besides taking my alcoholic libations in the bathroom)…
Jun 2, 2008 | Business, Queries, Submissions |
Hubby went fishing this weekend, so I decided to write a query letter to an agent who takes e-queries. I spent hours composing the perfect letter. I read it so many times I could recite it. I looked at every nuance, every word, searching for perfection. I revised it a few times. I opened with why I was querying said agent, launched into my book, and closed with awards, requests, etc.
Finally, when I was completely and totally convinced I'd written the most wonderful, most fabulous, most amazing query in the history of querying, I hit the send button. And then I was so happy I reread my letter a couple more times, imagining what the agent would think when she received it. How could she not like it? I hit all the right notes, read her guidelines carefully, and tailored my letter specifically. Yay me!
Natually, I went to bed happy and proud that I'd sent out my first agent query. This morning, still awash in happiness, I decided to reread my letter again.
And there it was — a typo. A dropped ‘r' within the first two lines. A ‘you' that should have been a ‘your'. And I felt like Charles I of England — for want of a nail the shoe was lost, for want of a shoe the horse was lost, for want of a horse the crown was lost, etc. ARGH!!!
Oh yes, I am an idiot. In spite of my diligence, careful composure, and obsessive proof-reading, I have managed to commit the cardinal sin of sending a letter to an agent in which she will think I am careless and inattentive to detail. After about an hour of grumbling, I decided to get over it. What am I going to do? Send her another query in which I explain I had a minor typo so I'm resending? Send a brief note telling her I know I have a typo and I'm sorry?
No, none of the above. I'm going to wait, cringing with embarrassment each time I open my email, and see what happens. If she rejects me, I'll get over it. If she requests more in spite of the glitch, I'll happily comply. The bottom line is, stuff happens. It's embarrassing because it's so stupid. It could have been avoided if I'd begged a friend to read the letter for me. But I didn't because the book pitch portion has been vetted and I was satisfied with it. I was merely composing a letter around the pitch, right?
DUH. I do believe my stylist bleached my brain on Thursday when he did my highlights.
Do you have any embarrassing tales from the submission files? Any glitches that worked out anyway? Do share! Join me in my hall of shame. 🙂
May 30, 2008 | Blogging, Photos
Where have I been all week? I had company! And then I had things to write in between all the festivities. My week has been a blur. A real blur. *sigh* I have nothing intelligent to say (as if I ever do). I've searched my brain for a post, but I'm still recovering from the week's balancing act.
So, I hope to be back Monday with something brilliant…
Okay, will you settle for coherent? How's that? I'll be back with something coherent. 🙂
more cat pictures
May 23, 2008 | Writing |
Inevitably, unpublished writers obsess about page counts, word counts, and format. It's hard to understand how your masterpiece in progress stands up, length-wise, to your favorite stories if you don't know how format is done. I think this post by Jessica Faust over at Bookends will help.
Basically, don't obsess. 🙂 I write in TNR 12, though I've tried 14 and I've tried Courier 12. When I want to know how many words I have page-count-wise, I put the whole thing in Courier 12 and do the 250 words per page thing for an estimate. Inevitably, this differs from the actual computer count.
For an explanation why, go see the blog post. It might help. Or it might simply confuse the issue further. 🙂 Just make it readable, and understand whether the publisher you are targeting wants computer count or page count. But don't sweat the small stuff, really. Story is key. Not margins, and not font.
So have you encountered the format nazi? The one who tells you your pages MUST be in Courier 12, or else? I think I was that person once. *sigh* It's what I was told. But, OTOH, I did encounter people writing in TNR 12 and estimating total word count by 250 words per page. Obviously, their count would have been quite a bit short….
