Should You Submit That Manuscript During the Holidays?

That very question has been posed to Editorial Anonymous. You can check out her blog with the answers you seek (but possibly didn't want to hear).

I'll be taking some time to relax, like these guys this Thanksgiving. So posting will be spotty until after the weekend.

Anon,

Nancy

Twitter as a Resource Tool for Writers

Twitter- that internet phenomenon that asks the simple question “What are you doing?” has become especially popular with publishing types. Because of this, it can be a great resource tool for writers..

1. You can use twitter to determine a particular agent’s likes and dislikes. They will often mention trends they are seeing as they read through their slush pile.

2. Waiting for a response from an agent? Many agents will list on Twitter where they are in regards to their slush pile.

3. Organized Twitter Topics are popular with Agents. Topics like #pubtip, #askagent, #Allaboutagents (or #askanagent) and #Kidlit allow agents to communicate with writers without having to leave the comfort of their home or their neighborhood watering hole for that matter. To reference the transcripts simply go to http://www.twitter.com/ and enter the “#” then Kidlit etc. in the Search field. In many cases, agents will answer questions directed to them if the #topic is listed with the question.

4. You can also sign up for TweetChat, which does allow you to chat real time with people other folks on Twitter.

So how do you determine if a particular agent is on Twitter? You can go to http://www.twitter.com/ and place the agent’s name after a slash
(e.g. www.twitter.com/chucksambuchino) to see if that person is on Twitter. Also on many agency websites, you will see the Twitter icon or the agent will say follow me on Twitter at:_____

You can also use a skip tracing technique that collectors use to find information on the debtors they’re trying to locate. If you find one agent on twitter, look at their tweets, they will often respond to another agent, if you click on that agent’s tweets, this will often bring you to another agent etc.

It’s free to sign up, to do so go to http://www.twitter.com/. If you don’t want to sign up, you can still reference many of the tweets.

Also, http://www.agentquery.com/ has a pretty extensive list of agents on Twitter.

http://agentquery.leveragesoftware.com/group_discussion.aspx?discussionid=d696c822a8e24febb2b621e8974219df

One Agent talks about what she's looking for

Agent, Sarah Davies of Greenhouse Literary recently did a post on her blog/website listing the types of projects she's hoping to find. Middle Grade boy books are still hot it sounds like. You can read the post here: http://www.greenhouseliterary.com/index.php/site/sarahs_blog

Faith of Our Fathers

November 11th, is Veterans Day. It is also the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice by the Germans in 1918. The fighting seized in the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month that year. My grandfather served in the Army as a chaplain during World War I, a war often described as the Great One or the War to end all wars, but it didn't. In a letter to my grandmother, he shared his feelings about the war.

At Canadaiga, some soldiers were leaving. They began to sing the popular songs "Over There," and Hail, Hail The Gang's All Here," In the middle of it a man came hurrying down the street and rushed to the edge of the group at the car steps. Shortly after, he returned to the edge of the pavement, leaned his head on his arms against the stone wall and broke down crying. He was a middle aged man and I concluded that his boy was leaving. He soon controlled himself and walked off. I am more and more convinced that the mothers and fathers are paying a greater price in this war than we young ones are. Why doesn't this war stop, anyway?

But finally the war did end and on November 11th, 1918, my grandmother wrote:

The whistles are blowing so that I cannot sleep. So I am writing this letter by candle light at 5 A.M. It must be that the German representatives answered before the time limit was up for President Wilson has asked that here be no more celebrating till the official announcement from Washington. You see, the nation just about went wild last Thursday. Big parades were held and the greatest excitement reigned in many places...

On that same day, my Grandfather said:

Last night we received news of the abdication of the Kaiser; today rumors of the Armistice terms accepted. So we expect peace very shortly now. And how happy this world will be!

My grandparents were finally reunited June the following year. Of the reunion, my grandfather wrote:

My love attack! What a second of joy as my eyes first caught sight of her! Then a kiss and a hug worth its impetuosity in gold. Afterward, a walk and a sweet blissful time in chatting and loving.

To all those Veterans out there, a heartfelt Thank you!

Anon,

Nancy

Do I Need a Blog?

That's one question writers, both published and unpublished ask themselves. The answer is a definite maybe. A blog can be a great way to express yourself, to connect with potential readers and to learn to write tight. It's also been said that some agents will google potential clients to see if they have a web presence and if they do, if it's a positive one. (Don't trash agents on your blog, they will find out, one way or the other). The maybe part, a blog does take a chunk of your time. Time you could otherwise use to write your great american novel....

There are some examples of blogs that were so successful that they garnered the bloggger a book deal. The best example I can think of is Julie & Julia. Yep, that popular movie starring Meryl Streep began as a blog, then became a book then a movie. You know the rest.

Another example of a successful blog hits a litle closer to home for me. The blog was originally started so that friends and families of the Kings Firecrackers, a performance jump rope group from the Kings School District in Warren County, Ohio, could easily view the team's performances. Well word got out pretty quickly, a few posts on youtube also helped and that little blog has seen over 10 million hits and has been seen in over 88 countries. The result has been some amazing opportunities for a group of girls in grades 4-8. They will be performing at the halftime for one of the Chicago Bulls games this year, not to mention the Detroit Pistons and at lots of college and high school basketball games. They also performed on the Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon and have had inquiries from The Ellen DeGeneres show, Good Morning America and some other shows and events that were a bit too far away.

The one thing in common that both these examples have is Talent and lots of it, but the blogs definitely helped promote that talent. To illustrate my point, you can check out the Kings Firecrackers at: http://www.kingsfirecrackers.blogspot.com/.

Prepare to be amazed...

Anon,

Nancy